Tony's Pride
by Emerald Autumn
Summary: Tony Stark: Billionaire, Omega, Genius...Mother? All Tony Stark wanted to do was continue being an Avenger, finally mate his beloved Alphas, and live happily ever after. Then that nutcase General Ross showed up with his plan to rule the world and things suddenly got a whole lot complicated. These babies are whose? A/N See inside for further notes, pairings, warnings etc.
1. Chapter 1

*****PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING NOTES*****

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Avengers or any recognisable characters. I only lay claim to my original characters in this story.**

 **Warnings: angst, drama, violence, some bad language, mentions of sex, mpreg (not explicit, mainly mentioned so you can ignore that if you want), Alpha/Omega sort of dynamics (see below for details).**

 **Pairings: Tony/Steve/Natasha/Bruce/Clint/Thor, Tony/T'Challa, Pepper/Happy/OC**

 **Authors Note: Firstly, if you want a story that sticks to canon, keeps things in order and the characters as portrayed in the movies, DON'T read this one. This story twists and turns through the storylines so much even I'm not sure what happened. It sort of starts after Ultron, but it's not mentioned at all. There's also reference to CA:TWS but nothing explicit. It's a very alternate take on Civil War as well.**

 **Seriously, I made up my own timeline and threw bits in that worked with my story. So it's best not to rely on this being accurate with the movies. I started writing this I think after seeing a trailer for one of the movies and I've been adding to it over time.**

 **Also, SHIELD fell and then got back up, Fury didn't die, neither did JARVIS, everyone knows Coulson is alive, General Ross is an asshole, Wanda is crazy, lots of hand-wavey science (I basically make stuff up so don't judge me), hints at canon but not in the typical movie order so if some stuff is messed up just go with it. The Accords are also different to the movies as I wrote that part before seeing the movie. Instead of a bunch of countries going against the Avengers, it's basically just Ross stirring up trouble and trying to rule the world.**

 **Terms you will come across in the story that I feel the need to clarify:**

 **Alpha: the more dominant partner, not necessarily the stronger physically but generally they are larger in the male gender and aggressive in the female gender. Well, aggressive in both really but the girls are scary fierce. They sire the offspring.**

 **Omega: the more submissive partner. The ones who give birth, even if they are male or female. They can have many babies at once. Also, they put mother grizzly bears to shame with how protective they are over their offspring.**

 **Pups: the babies**

 **Cosmos: the almighty deity thing that extracts unbreakable promises and vows. Not really a person, more like some unseen force that just is.**

 **Pride: a group of aggregable Alphas and Omegas who can bond together in a marriage. The partners each bite the neck of the others and once it heals a sort of ring appears around the mark for every person within the Pride. Prides can be as little as three or as many as ten etc.**

 **So, here's the first chapter, if there are other terms that you think need clarification feel free to mention them. Enjoy!**

 **Chapter 1**

It was official. Mondays were evil and should be outlawed or something. When he left this abysmal place, he was going to give some serious thought to getting rid of Mondays. There would be a petition and everything. He could probably get a lot of names on it too. Everyone hated Mondays, right? It really should be replaced by another weekend day. Maybe since he was the one who spear headed the exile of the dreaded Mondays, he would get to choose the name too.

"Are you listening to me?"

 _I'm trying not to because everything you say is as crazy as you, but since you've dragged me here on a Monday morning I suppose I'd better at least pretend._

"Sure." Tony drawled as he brought his focus back to General Ross. The Alpha stood before him, full military apparel and stance, ruined by the pouty/pissed off look upon his face.

"Stark, this is important." Ross turned and walked away, leaving Tony to follow. He wondered briefly what would happen if he didn't. Probably the armed minions around most corners would shoot him. At the very least he would never get out of this pathetic excuse for an evil villain lab.

Best to follow the madman for now.

He caught up to Ross in front of an elevator. The older held the door open and looked almost constipated about having to wait. Tony smirked gleefully as he sauntered into the elevator car. Ross pressed a button and they start descending.

"No elevator music?" Tony got a dark look from the General. Despite wanting to babble, he refrained and lapsed into silence. Instead he thought back to earlier in the day, when he had received the "request" for a meeting with Ross. The Alpha had crawled out of the woodwork now that Bruce had gone into hiding and had started to make waves concerning those who were enhanced, such as the Avengers.

 ** _Flashback_**

Tony was warm and happy in his blanket burrito. Steve wasn't here but his scent was. Tony inhaled deeply and then purred. Someone else was here too.

"Are you going to get up this morning or just get high on the Captain's scent?" the sarcastic but softly amused voice of Clint Barton made Tony peek one eye open. He found the Alpha peering down at him with soft eyes and a warm smile.

"You got coffee?" Tony whispered.

"You want some?"

Tony shot him a look of disgust. _Did you seriously just ask if I want coffee?_ Clint laughed, not at all cowed. "I'll get you some coffee. Tasha will get you up and dressed. Pepper called earlier and said as soon as you were up you needed to call her back."

Tony groaned. "That settles it, I'm going back to sleep." He shut his eyes and burrowed back into the blankets.

A small delicate hand belonging to a different assassin, found its way between the blankets and Tony's skin. Tony groaned at the contact, wondering how she did it, how she managed to slip between the blanket layers every time.

"No fair," Tony pouted.

"Clint's getting your coffee, I'm getting your shower turned on then returning to get you. If you're not out of these blankets by the time I return, you're going under the water wrapped in them." With that, the lithe redhead climbed out of the bed, completely uncaring of her nudity.

Tony watched Natasha's ass and those awesome thighs disappear into the bathroom. When they were gone he gave a mournful sigh and started to untangle himself from the blankets. Finally free, he made his way into the bathroom to find a sinfully wet redhead waiting for him under the spray. She shot him a lascivious look and beckoned him closer with a crook of her finger.

Tony was a smart man. He didn't need to be told twice to move his ass.

After shower sex with an incredibly flexible assassin, Tony followed said assassin to the communal floor where Clint had prepared them not only plenty of coffee but some delightful smelling muffins.

"Aww, all this for little ol' me?" Tony cooed, "You shouldn't have. Especially since you can't cook."

Clint shot him a dry look. "Steve made the muffins before he left then froze them, you don't have to worry about food poisoning."

Tony nodded thoughtfully. "Have you heard from him?" There, that didn't sound needy at all.

He saw Clint and Natasha share a look before both shook their heads. Tony sighed. Steve had been going off for the last few months in search of the Winter Soldier, former Hydra assassin and brainwashed friend of Steve from the forties, also known as James Buchanan Barnes.

Wasn't that a mouthful.

There was also that tiny detail about the Winter Soldier being responsible for murdering Howard and Maria Stark. It had cost Tony a small fortune in therapy before he was okay with letting Steve go searching for his old buddy. In the end, he'd come to understand it was no point blaming the weapon instead of the one who wielded it. Barnes had been a gun and someone else had pulled the trigger. Only when he faced the man himself, would Tony truly know if he could forgive James Barnes, and not think of him as the Winter Solider. With the way the search was going, it would be some time before that happened anyway.

Tony knew Steve had been torn between staying with the Omega he was courting and searching out his long, lost soul brother. It was Tony's insistence that had made Steve go, but Tony himself wasn't all that happy about recent events. Tony already had a Pride of five Alphas courting him. Or he had before Bruce ran off in the dead of night after being tracked down by certain ghosts from his past, and Thor had returned to Asgard for a visit/getting permission from his sire to court an Omega from another planet. Apparently, negotiations weren't going well because Thor had been gone almost two months. Tony pretty much expected Thor to return and declare he couldn't court an Omega from Earth, or at least not Tony.

"Hey, stop with all of the morose thoughts this early in the morning and eat your breakfast." Clint's voice made Tony remember where he was and he smiled gratefully at the archer before tucking into the yummy breakfast laid out before him.

They shared general chatter about the plans for the day in between kisses and sips of coffee. Tony would settle whatever Pepper's problem was before making plans. Natasha and Clint were both going to SHIELD for a mission debrief. As much as Tony didn't want them to go, leaving him without any Alphas to keep him company, he knew he couldn't stop them. Just because his inner Omega had been triggered by the pre-bond and wanted the Alphas all close by, didn't mean Tony was going to give in to instinct and demand they wait on him hand and foot.

He was saving that for when – _if_ – he ever had pups.

So, after saying goodbye and watching them leave, Tony made himself busy by calling Pepper. Whatever was wrong, it would be best to get it out of the way, so Tony could then relax/mope around until one of his courting Alphas returned home.

"Hey, Pepper, what's up?"

"Tony, finally, look there's an urgent meeting that you need to attend this morning."

Tony whined dramatically. "But I gave you the CEO position so I didn't have to go to so many of these meetings."

"This is not an SI issue, this came to your direct line and JARVIS fielded it to me because you weren't awake yet."

Tony frowned, "Who called?"

There was a sigh on the other end of the phone, then, "General Ross."

 ** _End Flashback_**

Tony had argued with Pepper, but his former assistant had been determined that Tony at least meet with Ross, to talk about whatever it was the General thought was so important. So, here Tony was, still trying to figure out what was so important the Alpha had dragged him to this weird little underground base/supervillain lair.

 _Apparently, those friends in high places that Ross claims to have on speed dial are happy to fork out money for a dungeon but not a skylight._

He wished he could scroll through Facebook or text Rhodey – just to further annoy Ross – but the Alpha had confiscated Tony's phone when he arrived. It was a good thing he hadn't brought the Iron Man bracelets because he hated to think what might happen to his tech in the hands of Ross' minions. He managed to sneak the courting gift that Steve had given him past the security though. It was disguised as an arm band on his forearm, and if anyone tried to remove it, Tony would have cited the nature of the gift. A courting gift was a sacred emblem, to remove it, or ask for someone to remove it, was a huge taboo. It helped that the gift linked straight to JARVIS because of Steve's paranoia. He hadn't had to use it yet but when dealing with General Ross, it was good policy to expect the unexpected.

They arrived at the floor Ross had chosen and Tony followed the General out into a hallway that looked identical to the one they had left. Only this one was shorter and had only one door at the end. Tony had an uneasy feeling the closer he got to that door. The purpose of this floor was clearly to have as little traffic as possible. Behind that door must be something worth keeping under wraps.

The door was a solid, steel barrier, inflexible and looking like it belonged in some high-security prison. Beside the door was a number pad and thumb-scanner. The door was only accessed by certain people with the right digits.

 _Huh, digits_.

Inner pun aside, the door looked more foreboding up close. Tony subtly sniffed and received no odour. _Scent neutraliser_. He watched as Ross scanned his left thumb and entered the code. He memorised the numbers just in case. The door beeped, and Ross pushed it open before turning to look at Tony. He gestured inside, and Tony walked past the Alpha into a small room. Opposite the door he had just entered, was a large viewing window through which he saw another room, this one equipped with harsh, white lighting that revealed in full clarity what the room contained.

Pups.

Two, freaking tiny babies wrapped up snugly in white blankets, wearing white hats on their little heads, placed in plastic bassinets. The room lacked any kind of warmth or personal touches generally found in all baby rooms. The Omega nesting instinct to surround the pup's first living space with colour and texture was something that could not be denied. Yet these pups were in a room clearly not decorated by their mother. The sight was so unnatural and upsetting Tony almost whined in distress. He knew he was probably pumping out stress hormones and didn't much care.

"What the hell is this?" Tony rasped, too horrified to modulate himself. General Ross should never have babies. He should never, ever, under any circumstances, have any contact with impressionable infants.

"The new age." Ross sounded so proud of that, so sure. It was alarming.

"They're pups." Tony said, unable to take his eyes off the tiny wrapped bundles.

"Yes."

"Whose?" Tony had a sick feeling and it would not go away. "Whose pups are they?"

"They're yours."

Two words changed his whole life because he could not smell any deceit from Ross. The mad General was telling the truth.

 _They're yours._

Mondays were officially the worst.

"Mine?" _How the hell did that happen?_

Tony had not given birth, certainly not in the few days this pair of pups had been in the world. He had also never donated his eggs. Not knowingly at least. He tore his gaze away from the sleeping pups to look at the Alpha standing beside him watching Tony with cold eyes.

"How?" Tony growled because it was all he could do not to rip the smug smile off the other man's face when General Ross smiled triumphantly.

"We have our ways."

" _How_?" The demand was clear in Tony's Omega laced tone. The Alpha would be compelled to respond. No matter how nasty an Alpha, they were biologically bound to respond to an Omega's question when spoken in _that_ tone.

Ross didn't look happy about it, but he answered anyway. "When you had the arc reactor removed from your chest, we also had some of your eggs harvested."

Tony swallowed the bile in his throat, fighting the urge to vomit. He felt so violated, so furious, but he had to rein it in. He had to find out what Ross wanted. His mind was in turmoil but the important part was getting answers, not needling the insane Alpha.

"So, you stole my eggs, you created these two…using whose sperm?" _Please don't say yours!_

Ross shrugged. "Various donors went into making the embryos."

"Whose?" Tony demanded, letting his inner Omega fury peek out a little. His harsh scent began to permeate the air. Ross flinched just a little, enough for Tony to know he had gotten to him, before the Alpha composed himself and erected a blank mask on his face.

"They were sired by Captain Rogers and a Hydra assassin known as the Winter soldier. Both of their samples were collected when they were thawed out recently. They were degraded by the rapid metabolism of the serum but we were able to create these two little soldiers from what was left."

Tony swallowed more bile. _Soldiers?!_ He wasn't even going to touch the thought of the pups being sired by one of his courting Alphas and an on-the-run assassin. That particular can of worms could wait until he was alone.

He rubbed his neck, agitated and trying not to lash out. His bitter scent still lingered, making the General shift away not so subtly. He viciously hoped that the harsh scent was making Ross' inner Alpha writhe in discomfort.

"So, you stole me eggs, you stole sperm from two super soldiers, you made two pups, now you show them to me because…?"

Ross shot him another sick little grin. "Because they're yours and you're going to raise them."

Tony narrowed his eyes. "Just like that?" _It's never that easy_.

"Just like that."

"Why?"

"You don't want to raise them?"

Tony wanted to throat-punch the asshole for even suggesting that. He hadn't even scent bonded with the pups yet and he already felt protective of them. Something primal inside him had clicked when he saw them. They were _his_ and he was not leaving this dark little hellhole without them.

"Why are you just giving them to me after going through all of the trouble of creating them in secret?" Tony asked through gritted teeth.

Ross sighed, looking put upon, "Because the surrogates can't raise them the way they need to be raised, and we have no other method of caring for young pups."

Tony snorted, "You've had what? Nine months? To figure out your master plan and you forgot about the part where someone must care for the infant pups? Or did you skip ahead to your plans of training them to be soldiers in your army?"

Ross looked constipated again, much to Tony's sick delight. "Regardless, we have no method of caring for them other than you, their mother. So, here you are."

"And what exactly do I have to do to get them?" Tony asked coolly, not giving any of his inner turmoil away.

"Well that's simple. I'm going to have you sign some forms, and then I'm going to have you disappear."

"Excuse me? I don't sign anything without my lawyers."

"You'll sign this if you want to leave here with your little bundles of joy."

Tony barely withheld a growl. "So, where are these forms?"

Ross led him away from the pups and into a conference-style room on the floor above. Tony hurried through the forms and paused in horror.

It was something called The Accords. It basically put every enhanced person on a very tight leash controlled by a certain Governmental body of which Ross was a founding member. It would give him and people like him control over people like the Avengers, telling them where to go and what to do. They would be nothing but attack dogs sent out to destroy the mad General's enemies.

Any enhanced person who refused to sign the Accords, would be labelled an enemy of America, and hunted down for capture or execution.

And Ross wanted him to sign this shit?

"If you want your pups to live, you'll sign it. I can always make more soldiers."

That thought froze the blood in his veins. Once again, he scented no deceit from the Alpha; Ross was not lying. He would kill the pups and start again in making the perfect soldiers. At this point, Tony recognised an unhealthy and unending obsession when he saw one. He had witnessed first-hand how the search for Captain America's body had consumed Howard. Ross would not stop until he succeeded, and he would take down anyone in his way. Even two defenceless pups.

With a shaking hand, Tony signed the evil document and pushed it away roughly, feeling sick to his stomach. He had sold out his friends, his potential mates, and many more. The Stark name held a lot of influence in certain circles, his name on this agreement would sway a lot of minds. But he had done it for his children. That was all he could focus on for now.

"Now, let me take my kids." Tony spoke firmly, making it clear he was done.

Ross looked smug as he led the way back to the pups. "Now I'll escort you to a place where you can hide away until my soldiers are ready for training. It wouldn't do to have you all discovered before it was time."

Tony bit his tongue. _Like hell, asshole!_ He was already plotting where to run, and how to get there. The people he left behind would need protection but so long as he didn't contact them, that should give them plausible deniability and protection from the likes of Ross. He hoped.

Once again, they stood in front of the glass wall keeping Tony from his pups. Tony wanted to rush in and snatch them up.

"It's a shame only two of them were ideal candidates."

Tony froze. Something about that wording twigged in his brain. It made him realise, Ross would not have simply stolen two of his eggs. He could have stolen dozens of them, hundreds!

"How many of my eggs did you steal?" Tony rasped, not taking his eyes off his pups but being keenly aware of the Alpha beside him.

"I don't know the exact number. Most of them weren't viable. I suppose your younger years have consequences after all."

Tony's heart clenched. Nonviable eggs? It could be because of his exploits during his rebellious teen and early-twenties years. Or it might have simply been it wasn't the right time in his cycle for more eggs to be viable. He forced himself to ignore the urge to find out. It would have to wait.

"From the eggs that we harvested from you, we managed to create only ten viable embryos. Most with different sires."

Tony gulped. "Where are they?"

He expected to hear Ross describe how they hadn't made it to term. He would listen to the gory details because he had to know. He had to mourn his children, even if he had never known and never would.

Instead Ross shrugged and said, "They're here somewhere, I haven't decided how to dispose of them yet. They were defects." Such disgust in his tone. "I suppose subpar Alphas breeding with a subpar Omega can only lead to such offspring. These two luckily took after their sires."

 _If I'm so subpar why did you choose me in the first place?_ Tony didn't want the answer. Quite frankly he was more interested in getting his pups.

"I'm taking them with me." Tony said firmly. "All of them"

Ross looked surprised. "But they're defective."

"They're mine."

Ross looked at him for a long moment before shrugging. "Well, that's one way of getting rid of them I suppose. You understand that in total, there will be ten pups, and you will be raising them on your own. Your primary objective will be caring for these two," he gestured to the two in front of them, "but if you think you can handle it I see no reason why you can't have the others to entertain you as well."

Tony said nothing. Let the moron think what he wanted. So long as Tony left this place with all his children, he didn't care.

"Are there more on the way?"

"No. Like I said, you only had a few viable eggs. When we are better prepared, I will select a different Omega to donate eggs for the next batch."

Tony barely withheld a cry of relief instead he just nodded. In some deep, dark part of himself, he was already plotting how to take down the Alpha in front of him. Some day he would do it, he swore on all that he was, that he would one day end this man's life.

It was the least his pups deserved.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Tony had woken up that morning – a scant four hours ago – a single Omega being courted by a Pride of potential Alphas. Sure, they had problems, what with most of them being gone at random intervals, but they were happy.

Now Tony was a mother to ten newborn pups and on his way to a safe house controlled by a madman.

 _Mondays…_

Tony was sequestered in a black, tinted car. In his arms were the two pups he had been introduced to first. The other pups were in a tripped-out van behind them. His heart had clenched when he heard that two of the pups had been on ventilators. They were even smaller than the pair in his arms. Premature. Vulnerable. In the van behind them, they had the appropriate medical equipment needed to keep them alive.

"Here's the folders on all of the pups," Ross said, holding a briefcase open to show Tony the contents. "All of the notes and evaluations, all of the relevant data."

"How about their names?" Tony asked blandly.

Ross cocked his head and gave a bland grin, "That's usually the Omega's job."

Tony didn't respond – either to the sneering tone or the familiar jab about an Omega's _job_ – just stared down at the sleeping bundles in his arms. When he had first seen them, he had scent marked them and known they were his, they had scented him too and knew he was their mother. They had cried, demanding hugs and attention. Tony had stumbled through his first encounter with his pups trying not to let on how overwhelmed he was. When they had finally settled, Ross had announced they would leave and to prevent more delays, Tony wouldn't get to scent the others until they reached the safe house.

The pinched look on Ross' face would have been hilarious at any other time.

"Do you swear on the Cosmos that these ten are the only offspring created by you and your associates?" Tony asked, making sure to word the question so that there could be no misunderstandings or half-truths.

Ross rolled his eyes but answered. "Yes, I swear by the Cosmos that these ten are the only pups my people have created."

Tony nodded, accepted it as truth. When someone swore by the Cosmos it was the most unbreakable vow they could make. Lying or breaking the vow led to karmic justice and often death. For the first time since meeting up with the mad general, Tony relaxed. The pups in his arms seemed to sense his calm because they both murmured in their sleep and nuzzled closer. Tony's heart melted at how much he loved them already.

He was silent until they reached the "safe house". In reality. it was a gated community turned into a prison. He would be the only one living behind these walls and the large iron gate. Well, him and his pups. And the guards. Hopefully not Ross.

"Where did everyone else go?" Tony asked, almost dreading the answer. With Ross it could be as simple as bribery or as horrifying as murder.

"They were offered new housing elsewhere under the guise of a fungus in the walls of these houses," Ross looked and sounded quite smug with his lie, "You'll stay in this house. Occasionally the guards will stay in others, but mostly they will patrol the perimeter to ensure no one gets in."

 _Or gets out_.

Tony clutched two of his pups close to his chest as he anxiously watched Ross' goons move the other pups into the house. The eight little ones he had yet to see except from a distance were now finally within easy reach. The goons set every one of the plastic bassinets up in the living room around the furniture.

A fully furnished house that looked like the true occupants had simply stepped out for a moment. Tony shivered at the sensation of intruding on another's space.

As if sensing him, the pups all began to stir, some even crying. The noise was going to escalate, Tony knew, and Ross must have guessed as well. He shot a frown at all the pups in their little plastic bassinets taking up the living room.

"I'll leave you to it Stark and I'll be back tomorrow to talk more about your duties in raising my soldiers." With that he was gone, leaving Tony in a room full of fussy infants.

Tony sighed, already exhausted after the emotional roller coaster of the morning. This was going to be an interesting learning curve.

 ***** Page Break *****

The pantry was fully stocked, as was the fridge. There was even coffee and a decent machine. Too bad he couldn't use it. Coffee was bad for nursing mothers, he was sure he'd read that somewhere.

As soon as he'd scent marked all his pups, his body had decided he needed a way to feed his multiple offspring. As with all male Omegas, he could develop temporary breasts to feed his pups. Usually, he would have had nine months for his body to adjust to the hormones and future needs of his offspring. However, Tony had only had six hours alone with his pups and his body decided that a milk supply was an urgent necessity.

 _Ah, the wonders of Omega biology._

It had been painful and disconcerting to have his body change so quickly and drastically. His body had used up his fat storage to create milk, inciting a ravenous hunger. Tony couldn't remember eating so much without throwing up and he was beyond grateful that he had plenty of food to eat.

The only good part about the rapid change was that his milk had been ready before his pups had needed feeding. He'd somehow managed to feed them two at a time and finally filled all their bellies. Young pups were usually pretty simple to care for. Feed, clean, cuddle pretty much summed it up. He dreaded when they got older and could move around of their own volition. If they were anything like Tony…he shivered at how much trouble he had gotten himself into as a young pup. There was plenty of time to worry about that later though.

Something else to worry about was the blankets and caps the pups wore. Tony detested the scent of them, the feel of the fabric. He would burn them when he had the chance. His Omega demanded colour and gentle fabric for their new skin. His pups needed to be individuals, not grouped together in a faceless mass of white, sterile clothing. Not only that, the blankets smelt faintly of the others who had handled the children. The most offensive was Ross. He was so having a bonfire with this stuff.

The pups didn't seem to mind what they were wearing and as soon as they were fed, they dropped off to sleep. They'd had a tough few days. From being born to being abandoned to being moved to a strange place with their mother. Tony wasn't the only one feeling the strain. While the pups slept, Tony had some reading to do. And planning. And eating. And sleeping. He had a lot to do, but first he needed some answers.

Ross had left the briefcase on the coffee table. Tony opened it and brought out the first folder. Inside was a picture of Steve and a blond-haired pup, one of the two that Ross wanted. The male Alpha pup was a healthy weight and size. All notations focused on his potential to be a super soldier like his sire.

Tony looked to the pup in question, little tufts of blonde hair peeking out from under the cap. "I suppose I need to name you. What do you think?" No answer was forthcoming. "Maybe later."

As expected, the next folder contained a picture of Bucky Barnes paired with a dark-haired pup. Tony shivered at the recently taken photo of the Winter Soldier. The man looked ice-cold and cruel. Tony looked to the pup lying by Steve's offspring. The Alpha pup was all soft and squishy, none of the harshness of his sire.

To his relief, Tony realised he felt no animosity for this pup. Barnes had killed Howard and Maria, the pup had not. And whatever feelings Tony had yet to figure out concerning the Winter Soldier, at least it had not carried over to the innocent pup.

Bracing himself for the unknown, Tony set the two folders aside and moved onto the next one.

He was surprised to find a photo of a dark-skinned man he didn't recognise. He read the name. Prince T'Challa. An actual freaking Prince?! How the hell had Ross managed to get a DNA sample from a royal? Tony wasn't sure he wanted to know. He looked at the statistics for the child paired with the prince. The Omega pup was easily distinguished by his darker skin. Tony frowned when he found no reason for why the pup had been labelled as defective. Until he reached the final line of the document.

Orientation: Omega.

Conclusion: Not desirable for project.

Tony growled, making several of his pups stir in their sleep. He quickly changed to a soft hum, a soothing noise, and it settled them back down. He glared at that paper in front of him. His pup had been labelled defective because he was an Omega. No other reason. Tony snarled softly in disgust. He would deal with the injustice later.

He moved onto the next folder. A picture of Clint greeted him along with two tiny babies. Tony whined. They had violated yet another one of his courting Alphas. The result was two Omega pups, one male and one female. They were the two who had been on the ventilators at birth, born too early, several days before the others.

Tony looked them over in person for several minutes, just to reassure himself they were real and in front of him. They were still so tiny. He touched them gently, unwilling to wake them. They were warm and soft and alive. Tony cleared his throat and went back to the folders.

The next Alpha was just as surprising. Natasha was now the proud sire of twin Alpha females. Tony frowned when he saw the Alpha notation. Why were they deemed 'undesirable for project' if they were Alphas? Then he had a lightbulb moment. The pups had been rejected because they were female. Apparently, Ross had very specific criteria.

Next came yet another familiar face and he was truly curious how Ross had managed to get DNA from Thor. The guy was literally an alien with awesome powers. It's not like one could easily sneak up on him. Tony resolved that one day he would learn how exactly Ross had gotten the samples. Perhaps tomorrow when the bastard dropped by.

He scanned the pages for Thor's pup. A male, big and healthy, but with no discernible orientation. It was concluded that the pup was null, someone with such a weak orientation that they never really showed any distinguishing traits. Tony snorted at their ignorance. Who could know what Thor's alien DNA did the orientation of a half-human pup? Perhaps Asgardians didn't present as early as humans. There was no way to know without talking to Thor. Regardless, Tony would love his pup.

The last folder was, of course, another familiar face. Tony shuddered at the extra documentation on this pregnancy. Ross was apparently still obsessed with Bruce. The result was two female Omegas. Neither showing obvious signs of the Hulk so Ross had dismissed them with clear disappointment. Tony almost cackled at how pissed Ross must have been with the result.

So, that was his children. He now knew their sires, their orientations, their measurements and their health.

Now all he needed to do was name them. And figure out how exactly he was going to get them all to safety far away from this pretty little prison.

 ***** Page Break *****

A soft baby cry woke Tony up from a restless sleep. Judging by the extreme sensitivity of his chest, he could guess the reason for the cry.

It was Steve's pup, fidgeting and mumbling. "Just like your Daddy, always hungry. Let's hope you don't have his metabolism or I'll never get any sleep."

Tony lifted the pup to his breast and settled in for a long feeding. Thank God that Omega biology allowed for the care of so many pups. It wasn't uncommon for an Omega in a Pride to have multiple offspring. Often the Omega chose only two or three sires at a time, but it wasn't unheard of for an Omega to have children by every one of their Alphas in a single pregnancy. Ten was on the rarer side of things but not as rare as the record of fourteen.

Yeah, Omega biology was truly a miracle to behold.

Tony fed each of his pups and spent time just staring at them. They were awake now and no doubt wondering where their sires were. Alpha pheromones were not an essential part of a pup's upbringing, but it served as a calming sense of security and safety that Omega hormones couldn't replicate.

"So, what will I name you all?" Tony murmured as he reached out and touched a hand here or stroked a chubby little cheek there. He got soft little baby noises in return.

Looking around Tony decided it was time to bring in some help. He wasn't sure if Ross had bugged the place but one quick blast from the jewellery on his arm and any bugs would be fried. Tony subtly crossed his arms as if hugging himself and gently pressed the button on the side of the bracelet.

 _'_ _All surveillance devices have been disabled, Sir. What is your current situation?'_

JARVIS' voice coming from the tiny speaker on the cuff made Tony relax. The voice was like a balm on his fried nerves. He wasn't alone. He might just cry.

"Too hard to explain, J. I need some help to get out though." Tony looked around him, trying to find what he could use to escape. The electricity worked but he knew that the TV had no live channels and there was no computer or phone. Basically, no way for Tony to contact anyone or even keep up with current events. Ross wanted him completely isolated.

 _'_ _Certainly, Sir, how may I be of assistance?'_

"Where am I?"

JARVIS rattled off a suburb and Tony nodded thoughtfully.

 _'_ _Sir, my scans indicate your body chemistry is significantly altered from when you left yesterday morning.'_

"Yeah, J, guess what? I'm a mommy now, to ten kids."

JARVIS was silent. Tony could practically hear his processors whirring with the new information.

 _'_ _This seems unlikely as you were not pregnant when you left, Sir.'_

"That's the part that's hard to explain, J. Now, what I need is an escape plan for myself and my children." Tony looked out the window and saw a car with tinted windows being admitted into the community. "Go silent J, I've got unfriendly company coming in. Run scans and options until they're gone."

 _'_ _Yes, Sir.'_

Tony braced himself as he fussed over his children while waiting for the General to enter the house. He had a lot of questions.

Ross strode in like he owned the world, so cocky and sure of himself, so smug. "Morning, Stark, how was your first night as a new mother?"

Tony arched a brow and didn't say anything as Ross moved closer to the pups, ignoring all in favour of the two he had deemed acceptable.

"Where are the Omegas who gave birth to them?" Tony asked calmly. It was something that had occurred to him during the night. Ross had mentioned the surrogates not being able to raise the pups "right", but what did that mean?

"They were paid for their time and effort then sent on their way. They are being monitored in case they step out of line but otherwise, they don't matter." Ross shrugged, still studying the pair of pups before him.

"You said they couldn't raise the pups…"

"They didn't have the necessary background to raise two soldiers. They would have become sentimental over them, ignoring their true purpose. It was best to remove them from the equation."

Tony nodded but didn't really understand. So, Ross thought Tony would be easier to control? Did he think that Tony wouldn't become "sentimental" for his pups?

"Do they know whose pups they were carrying."

Instead of answering, Ross asked if Tony had named the pups.

"Not yet." Tony wanted to push because he had a nagging feeling that situation with the surrogates could come back to bite him in the ass. But he knew when to let sleeping dogs lie.

Ross frowned disapprovingly. "They need names. If you don't name them, I will."

Tony said nothing for a moment. Then, "How did you get the samples from the sires? You already told me how you got DNA from Steve and Barnes."

Ross smirked, "So you read the files. Well, that's interesting but probably not as exciting as you were thinking. You see, those two SHIELD agents you cohabitate with are required to routinely offer up their blood for medical examinations. I simply tracked down the latest samples and put them to use. That alien who comes and goes from the planet has been involved in enough skirmishes requiring clean ups that he's left DNA behind, just enough for us to use this once. Considering the result, we won't be using him as a sire again. Nor those spies who also begat undesirable offspring."

Tony held his tongue and somehow managed to convey a blank face. Pepper would be thrilled at how tactful he was being.

"The prince was quite a tricky accomplishment. He comes from a country that is largely cut off from the rest of the world. As such, he was required to offer up a clean bill of health upon entering the country so that he didn't bring any native diseases with him. I thought that someone of his unique heritage might have resulted in a more appropriate pup. Sadly, I was mistaken."

"And Bruce?"

Ross's face tightened, just enough for Tony to know it was still very much a sore spot. "In trying to find a cure for his…other half, Dr Banner left behind some blood samples. We simply tracked it down and used it."

Tony nodded. So, that answered that. "You keep saying "we". Who exactly is "we"?"

Ross shot him a blank look then turned away.

Tony shrugged internally. It was probably too much to hope for that Ross would be arrogant enough to give Tony answers to something like that. "So, are you planning on waiting until these guys are adults before mixing up some more super soldiers in a test tube?"

Ross snorted as if the idea was ridiculous. "I'm not waiting. If our calculations are correct, these two will reach appropriate training age in just a few months."

Tony couldn't help the startled laugh that escaped him. "You think that three-month-old babies are capable of anything more advanced than drooling?"

"Not naturally, no."

Tony froze. That did not sound good. "What does that mean?"

Ross looked as if Tony's discomfort was an endless amusement to him. "We have developed an experimental serum that should accelerate the aging and development process. These two will be our first text subjects. They will receive their first treatments at the six-week mark."

Tony stared at the madman in horror. There were so many things wrong with that statement. First off: serum. The first "serum" this guy had cooked up, or at least had a hand in creating, had resulted in the Hulk! Second, advancing the age and development of a baby…there were so many reasons why that was wrong. Third, Ross thought that Tony would let two of his pups become experiments.

 _Hell no!_

Tony decided then and there that when he did finally kill Ross, it would be painful and slow. His mouth watered with anticipation, his blood boiled with adrenaline. He was ready to kill the man now. If only he could get away with it. He reigned in his murderous desires and regarded the General with a bland look.

"They'll be wanting food soon," Tony told him, "Which means they'll start crying."

As if on cue, Steve and Bucky's pups began to whimper. Ross shot an uneasy look at the many small occupants in the room. Dealing with babies was not his forte.

Ross left quickly. Tony hushed his pups and fed them again. He could tell the next year would be a constant battle to get everyone fed and cleaned up in time for the next round of feeding and cleaning.

God help him if one got the sniffles…

Putting aside such thoughts for another time, he ran the bug scan again before contacting JARVIS.

"J, how long 'til I get outta here?"

 ***** Page Break *****

General Ross was an incredibly arrogant man. It had been proven when he commissioned the project attempting to reconstruct the super soldier serum. Then again when he kept trying to fix his mistakes by capturing Bruce and experimenting on the Hulk. He liked to think he could control everything.

It was now even more apparent when Tony went snooping around his prison and found the van that had transported his eight pups, sitting in the garage. It was designed for Omegas with large litters, so they could take all their children out at once.

Once again, Omega biology was awesome. Even more awesome, was the genius who had designed the van. Tony was going to figure out who that was and repay them somehow. Maybe one of those huge cheques with a ridiculous number of zeroes on the balance. _I always wanted to hand one of those out, but Pepper would never let me._ She might make an exception for the people who designed Tony's ticket out.

The getaway vehicle was almost certainly bugged with at least a GPS tracker, but he had a plan for that. Now to get the guards to leave him alone so he could make his escape. For that, he would need JARVIS.

After he was free, the next step was to get as far away as he could, get a clean vehicle, then get even further away. He needed a safe den for his pups. He had no doubt Ross would try to find him, but Tony was resourceful and a genius. He would make do as he worked from a distance to eliminate Ross and his associates.

"Ready to blow this joint, guys?" Tony whispered to his pups as he loaded them one by one into the van. They were fed and warm. JARVIS had swept for any kind of transmitter and had indeed found a tracker. Tony would deal with that soon enough.

He had shaved off his van dyke and gelled his hair flat. Most would not recognise him without his signature facial hair and his neatly spiked hairdo. He wished he could dye the hair a little but there was nothing he could use. That would have to come later. For now, this would have to do as an appropriate disguise.

He'd packed everything he might need into the van and was ready to go. Nerves fluttered in his belly and he was so anxious he might vomit.

 _'_ _Sir, the distraction has worked. You have approximately two minutes until the guards are back within visual and auditory range.'_

Tony didn't need to be told twice. He left the gated community behind and wished he could drive faster. But to avoid detection, he needed to keep with the flow of traffic. Thankfully, for the time of evening, there was plenty. Normally he would hate the number of cars clogging up the road, but this time it worked in his favour. Between getting lost in the crowd and JARVIS's jamming of appropriate cameras, Tony hoped to remain unseen by anyone who reviewed the traffic surveillance.

"J, prepare to switch the trace to another car." Tony told his AI just before he turned left.

 _'_ _Done, Sir.'_

Tony breathed a sigh of relief. So far so good.

Tony left the city behind him and tried not to look in the rear-view mirror as his Tower, his home, faded into the distance. Ross hadn't even taken him out of the city. The man might just be more arrogant than Tony.

Were Clint and Natasha home yet? Had Steve come home after yet another fruitless search? Did they know he was missing yet? He didn't dare ask JARVIS in case the answer sent him running back home.

He couldn't go home. Ross would look there first. Would already have eyes on the place. As much as he wanted to go home, to feel the safety and security of his mates, it wasn't possible. Not yet.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

The new van was white instead of black and was a different model to the first one. More of a child-friendly less kidnapped-hostage vibe. Tony had bought it with the money he'd had JARVIS transfer from his accounts to four separate cards. The one used for the car, was now empty and that identity was gone too. So much money was routinely funnelled in and out of his accounts it would take a while before the money was even noticed, if it ever was.

Two weeks after his escape, Tony had settled into the outskirts of a mountain town whose name he kept forgetting. He rented the house from a nice Omega woman named Josie, who didn't ask questions once she saw the pups. No doubt she thought he was running from a nasty group of Alphas who had left him pregnant and not mated him.

That didn't sit well with him, but it explained all his kids. Thankfully, the elderly woman didn't seem to recognise him, either because his disguise was that great or her failing eyesight. Tony didn't know and didn't care.

The pups all lived in one room. It was a little cramped, but it would do, and he'd started decorating it soon after arriving. Lots of soft colours and fabrics now adorned the walls, floor and cribs. Toys were starting to pile up as well. The pups were growing already, and Tony had spent many hours learning his children. It was exhausting but rewarding to get to know these beautiful, innocent souls.

Tony had sat down the first night he arrived at the lovely little cottage and just cried. He was as hidden as he could be, no one knew him, no one recognised him, he often spoke with a hint of the accent his mother had left him before she died. He had given them a fake name and let them make their own conclusions about why a lone Omega was in the middle of nowhere with ten pups.

They left him alone and he spent his days with his pups and keeping an eye on world events. Something was brewing, but he didn't quite know what yet.

He'd gone shopping and enjoyed a bonfire when he burnt the horrible blankets and plastic bassinets that Ross had given him. Everything Ross had given him was burnt once he had his own belongings. He didn't want anything from that horrible excuse for an Alpha.

After the bonfire, cleansing Tony's world of Ross and his minions, he sat down and contemplated his next step There was a lot of things that needed doing, but not naming the pups felt like keeping them in limbo so Tony mulled it over before coming to his final decisions.

Steve's pup, a little blond boy with his sire's baby-blue eyes, had been named Aaron. The pup was always giggling about something. He seemed perpetually happy, but Tony knew that gleam in those innocent eyes. The boy would be trouble when he was older.

 _Did he get that from Steve or Tony?_

Barnes' pup was named Caleb, he had dark hair which could belong to either parent, but those pale eyes were definitely Barnes'. Tony didn't know anything about the Alpha to help in naming the pup, so Tony had chosen one he thought sounded strong, like the little tyke always trying to do things quickly. He was an impatient little bugger, always eating too quickly and then complaining when he got a tummy ache. Tony had been concerned about the behaviour the first few times, when it became apparent that it was a pattern of behaviour. But Josie assured him there was nothing medically wrong. Caleb was just eager to eat and get into more important things, like watching the mobile above his cot. Tony had bought a different mobile for each pup. Caleb's was a fish mobile that played a little lullaby when it spun. Caleb would watch it for hours.

The little Omega pup sired by the Wakandan prince was tougher to name. Tony didn't know any Wakandan names and there wasn't exactly a database online that would let him know what kinds of names were native to the country. In the end he named the chocolate-skinned, baby-boy Matthew, and left the middle name free in case the sire decided he wished for the pup to share something of his heritage. Tony didn't know much about Wakanda, but he knew the prince was single. It was fairly common for pups to be born outside of a bond, mostly just before the actual bonding took place but not Pride went through with that kind of partnership. Not everyone sought that bone-deep connection to another person and they raised their children together just fine without one. Matthew could very well be a legal heir of Wakanda. The thought made Tony nauseous. If he ever reached a time where it was safe to announce his pups to the world, he sensed a lot of meeting and negotiations with Wakanda in his future.

Clint's Omega pups were still small and frail looking. They didn't eat as much and slept a lot more. Tony kept a close eye on them and had Josie on hand if need be. Both had dark hair and Clint's gorgeous blue eyes. They were quiet for now, but he hoped one day to see the pair playing pranks on everyone just like their mischievous sire. The boy was Ryan and the girl, Maria. He hoped the names gave them strength.

Natasha's identical baby girls were difficult to name. Both had red hair and green eyes, eyes that must have come from Tony's mother, so familiar was the colour. It took Tony carefully studying the twins to determine the differences. Little Alexis, the louder of the twins had a tiny birthmark on her thigh, while Vanessa's was on her hip. They'd inherited the mark from Natasha who had one just below her belly button.

Thor's son had a similar problem to T'Challa's. Tony didn't know any Asgardian names and while he could look up Norse mythology and probably find something appropriate, he could also come across a name with negative connotations. It would be just his luck if he named his son after some evil monster in Asgard. So, Tony had named the boy Storm. It was unique and fitting for the little mini-Thor. Seriously, the babe was loud and demanding but so sweet. When one of his siblings fussed, Storm started crying too, as if his louder voice would gain attention faster. Just like his sire.

Lastly were Bruce's twin girls. Both Omegas had scared the hell out of him when they had opened their eyes a few days after Tony arrived at the cabin and shown off bright green eyes. Tony had braced himself for some Hulk action but aside from the eyes, nothing changed. Both girls remained with their bright green eyes and it seemed that would be their natural eye colour. Tony had named them Daniella and Mikaela. They were not completely identical like Vanessa and Alexis but they were similar enough that most would have trouble telling them apart.

Tony was a little miffed that none of his pups had his hazel eyes. Shouldn't hazel be a more dominant gene or something? Genetics was certainly not his thing but that sounded right.

Maybe some would have his genius. Part of him hoped not. Growing up a genius was hard work with little reward. When Tony was moved up a few grades to be with people more his intellectual level, he had been able to match them mentally, but emotionally and physically, he had been far, far behind. It made for a lot of awkward moments and resentful peers. It wasn't until he was an adult that people suddenly thought being a genius was a good thing. Then he wasn't the upstart nerd with too much brain and no mouth filter, he was a prodigy.

People were so confusing.

He wouldn't wish that kind of treatment on any of his kids, but he would deal with it far better than his own parents. Which was a stone he really didn't want to look under until he had to.

Maybe some of the pups would be snarky smart-mouths like Tony. Only time would tell, and it was a long way off. Though as he looked at his litter of growing offspring, he thought that 'long way off' would come all too soon.

 ***** Page Break *****

The babies were six weeks old when Tony turned on the news and saw that the King of Wakanda had been killed.

Tony watched in morbid fascination as Prince T'Challa, became the new King of Wakanda. Tony held their son and wondered if that was what Matthew's future was. Was the small babe nursing at Tony's breast now a prince? It was hard to believe the pup might have such a destiny in store for him.

The hunt was on for the old king's murderer. Apparently, the Winter Soldier was up to his old tricks. Tony wondered if he was working for Hydra still, or someone else.

"This is pretty messed up, huh?" Tony murmured to Matthew as the babe finished his dinner and was placed against Tony's shoulder to be burped. "Your grandpa might have been killed by your half-brother's daddy. That sounds very daytime soap drama, doesn't it?"

It probably wasn't healthy that Tony talked to his kids so often like he was having a conversation. But since he had no one else to talk to unless Josie dropped by for a visit, there was no other option if Tony wanted to remember how to talk. Also, wasn't it healthy for babies to listen to their parents' voice? Sure, that was meant to be from the womb, but better late than never.

Matthew gurgled at him, reaching up with tiny hands. Tony kissed a little starfish hand and made sure the pup was warm. Being in the mountains, it was quite cold at night. Tony hoped that he never lost power up here or his pups would freeze.

"In other news, Tony Stark has not shown his face since the announcement of the Accords last week."

Tony's attention snapped back to the TV as a picture of his old face popped up on screen. He was smirking at the camera, drink in hand. The photo had to be about six years old. He hadn't drunk alcohol since his Alphas started courting him. It pleased them that he didn't get drunk at all the parties he attended. Honestly it was a fair request and he didn't mind giving up booze for his Alphas.

Although if they had asked him to give up coffee…just no. He couldn't drink coffee while he was breastfeeding – until he spoke to someone he trusted who knew about this stuff – but at least he hadn't had to forgo his lifeblood for nine months as well.

 _Thank God for small miracles_.

"Sources say Mr Stark is hiding out in his Malibu home in the wake of the Avengers voicing their intentions to not sign the document Mr Stark has spear headed."

Tony snorted at how twisted that was. Everyone knew where his Malibu house was now, why would be hide there? He hoped that Steve with his all-American boy-next-door persona, would be able to convince enough of the world that the Accords were rubbish. "Good luck, guys."

"Stark Industries CEO, Virginia Potts, has declined to comment on Mr Stark's whereabouts, neither confirming or denying the presence of Mr Stark in Malibu. Close friend, Colonel James Rhodes has also been absent from the public eye and his superiors have declined to comment on his location or his opinion about Mr Stark's actions."

Tony swallowed the bile in his throat and hugged Matthew closer. He dreaded to think what Pepper and Rhodey were thinking of him. He hoped they knew he had been under duress when he signed the Accords, but in the end, it might not matter. The point was that he _had_ signed them. He had put his name behind those horrible rules and people would inevitably hate him for it.

"No point thinking about this stuff now, huh?" Tony told Matthew as he placed the pup down amongst his siblings who were spread out on the large soft blankets adorning the floor. The sets of twins were happiest near their womb-mate. Storm was happy gumming on a blanket. Caleb was watching the fish mobile he loved so much. Tony had managed to get identical ones to the original in the nursery and wherever he set Caleb down during the day, he made sure the mobile was close by. Aaron was mumbling into his fist as he kicked his legs. Matthew, now with a full belly, was falling asleep. They would all fall asleep soon.

It seemed like he had just gone through the morning ritual of waking up and feeding the pups. Now he was about to go through the evening ritual of putting them to bed. Tony would willingly admit that he was tired, but he had survived on little sleep before when he had to. This time was no different, except that he didn't have coffee to fuel him, only orange juice.

"JARVIS, how's the digging coming?" Tony asked his bracelet, the only link he had to his old life.

 _'_ _I have located all the known associates aiding General Ross in his ventures. Their names and connections to the General have been stored on a secure server and at your command I will go viral with all the information. Including several incriminating videos and documents. How much further do you want me to dig, Sir?'_

"As deep as you can JARVIS, don't leave any rock unturned, just remember to erase your presence once you've done your snooping."

 _'_ _Very well, Sir.'_

Tony was preparing for when he confronted Ross and his gang of madmen. He hoped to do it soon, get everything out there so that he could go home. He felt tears prick his eyes at the thought of the Tower. His pups deserved a safe home. A home where they could grow up without having to worry about running in the dead of night. Tony kept JARVIS online while he was sleeping, constantly scanning for any anomalies approaching the cabin. Better to be safe than sorry.

Where would home be when this was over? He was wondering if staying in New York would be a good idea. He had no doubt that a lot of enhanced people would be after him despite his very real excuse as to why he had backed the Accords. It would probably be a good idea to lay low for a while.

It was a shame the Avengers could never lay low.

Would his Alphas come with him? Would they care that he hadn't wanted to sign the Accords? That he did it to protect his pups? Would they even care about the pups? They were not created through normal means. His Alphas might reject them because of that.

With a tired sigh, Tony settled his pups into their cots and then bunked down on the couch. There was no other room, no other bed, so he had converted the couch into his bed. It was a fold out so at least the furniture wasn't completely horrible.

He fell asleep hoping tomorrow would be better.

 ***** Page Break *****

"…More unrest tonight as people protest the Accords. Members of the superhero team, the Avengers, are still on the run after refusing to sign the Accords and being labelled fugitives under the new laws."

"…Still no word or sign from Tony Stark. Rumours abound that the billionaire has gone into hiding to protect himself from angry members of the community condemning the former superhero for signing the controversial Accords."

"…Another protest today in front of the White House as people plead with the President to get rid of the Accords."

"…I was attacked by one of those so-called super heroes! They all need to be thrown in jail!"

"…As the unrest between the so-called enhanced and regular people of the public reach a new high, rumours have started to emerge that not all is as it seems with the Accords. If Tony Stark supposedly supports this document as firmly as members of the Accords Council have claimed, why is he not in the public eye trying to convince people as to his view point?"

"Are you saying his signature might be forged?"

"That's one possibility. Another is that he was coerced into signing the Accords."

"What could force one of the most powerful people in the world to sign something they don't want to?"

"…Still no sign of the former Avengers or the alleged Russian assassin known as the Winter Soldier. People are still on high alert and are once again advised to notify authorities if they see something which may help in their capture."

"…Shock news tonight when news reporter Pamela Quinton's body was found in her home early this morning. Apparently, the young reporter committed suicide. She was recently well known for her reports advocating Tony Stark's possible blackmail in signing the Accords."

"…General Ross, the spokesperson and one of the founders for the Accords Council, announced his intention this morning to hunt down the former Avengers team. He says that without laws, there can be no order, and that the Avengers, in their misguided attempt to remain in a privileged place in society, have spurned the rules that made this country great, and they will be held accountable."

"…Still no comment from Tony Stark's friends and associates concerning his whereabouts, lending more credence to the claim that he may have been blackmailed into signing the Accords and is now in hiding."

"…Where is Iron Man? Where is Tony Stark?"

 ***** Page Break *****

The pups were seven weeks old and all their parents were on the run. Tony had watched on the news as people had speculated about his own whereabouts, the whereabouts of the Avengers and of the Winter Soldier. Tony didn't know if they were all together, but he hoped they were safe.

It was time now. It was possibly past time, but everything had happened so fast. In just one week the world had turned pear-shaped and everyone was angry.

"JARVIS?"

 _'_ _Yes, Sir?'_

"Upload all data. Make sure the videos go viral and the documents go public."

 _'_ _Yes, Sir.'_

It was time for Ross to fry.

 ***** Page Break *****

"Who would have thought the media could come in handy?" Tony remarked to his pups as he watched the morning news.

Ever since he had given JARVIS permission to make public all the dirty knowledge he had managed to find, every channel had been on fire with all the information. Almost a week later and it was still going strong.

Ross and his friends were trying to paint themselves in a positive light, to wriggle out of their predicament, but apparently, all those powerful friends Ross claimed to have didn't want anything to do with such a twisted madman.

News of Tony's children hadn't made it into the media yet, he was saving that in case he needed it. All the public knew was that Ross had planned on using illegally created pups to experiment and ultimately turn into his personal soldiers. Illegally acquiring an Omega's eggs and an Alpha's DNA to create a child was a big taboo, it was so ill thought of that many people had outright demanded the death penalty for Ross and his friends. The shoe was on the other foot now. Ross was on the run – or wished he was since he was in custody – and the Avengers were being pleaded with to return.

No one was going to vouch for Ross and now the Accords were coming into doubt. If Ross could play with people's lives so easily, what did he really intend the Accords to do? None of the theories making the rounds of the news outlets could have a positive spin on them at all.

He particularly liked the one that suggested Ross had been planning on building his own army so that he could rule the world. It was scary how close to the truth it probably was.

"Things are starting to look up now," Tony said to his cooing pups.

After being alone, caring for his pups for almost two months, with no support and the stresses of being on the run, Tony was beyond tired. He just wanted to go home.

 _'_ _Sir, there is a vehicle approaching.'_

Tony froze for a moment. "What kind of vehicle?"

JARVIS rattled off the make and model of a very fancy and yet very familiar car. "JARVIS is that the car I gave Pepper for her birthday?"

 _'_ _License plates match, Sir. Facial recognition also identifies the driver as Miss Potts, and the single passenger in the car as Colonel Rhodes.'_

Tony's heart did a strange flip-flop. Pepper and Rhodey were here?

He wasn't sure what to feel. He was beyond happy to see them again, but at the same time he dreaded the encounter. What if they were mad at him? What if they condemned his choice? What if they wanted nothing to do with him?

What should he do? Run out and meet them? Wait by the door for them to knock? Sneak out the back to avoid this whole mess?

"How did they find me, J?" Tony asked. Did others know where he was?

 _'_ _I'm afraid you'll have to ask your friends, Sir.'_ The note of haughty disapproval was not lost on Tony. Any other time he would have called his AI on it, but he was too frozen by indecision. Literally. He stood in the middle of his living room completely bewildered about which way to run.

A sharp knock on the door made him jump and suddenly the moment was here. He was going to see his friends for the first time in two months and so much was different. So much was riding on how this encounter went.

"We know you're in there, Tony, open up." Pepper's voice was as calm and commanding as always. Tony swallowed down the nerves and made his way to the door on shaky legs.

He took a deep breath then unlatched all the locks adorning the front door. He pulled it open just enough to see them and then froze. They all did. He wondered how he looked to them. No doubt his lack of facial hair and his new haircut – a floppy kind of wavy thing – probably threw them. Then there was his chest…feeding so many pups, even if male Omega's didn't grow excessively large breasts, had certainly changed his appearance. He had to wear a bra now just to keep the damn things contained.

He had a newfound respect for Pepper and Natasha when it came to boobs and bras.

"Hi." He did not squeak…but his voice wasn't very strong either.

"'Hi'?! Really?! You've been missing for two months and that's all you can say?" Pepper shrieked.

"Technically it's not quite two months yet," Tony mumbled for lack of any other response.

"Technically I'd like to beat your ass. But I'll leave that to your Alphas when they finally come home," Pepper sniffed, looking down her nose at him with a haughty look that had Tony appropriately cowed, before her eyes filled with tears and she leapt at him to envelop him in strong arms and potent Alpha female scent.

Tony almost whined at how good it felt to be near a familiar face. He cuddled into Pepper's arms and didn't want to let go.

Rhodey eventually tugged Tony from Pepper's arms, much to the disappointment of the other Alpha, and squeezed Tony so tight he couldn't breathe.

"It's good to see you, Tones," Rhodey murmured, "You've got a lot of explaining to do."

Tony gave a watery laugh as he snuggled into the other man's embrace. "I'm not Lucy but I'll see what I can do."

Rhodey was stopped from responding by a shrill shout coming from inside the house.

Tony froze. While he had been hugging Rhodey, Pepper had slipped past them and into the house. The house where his pups were settled in their cots, waiting for their dinner.

Without thinking, he bolted back into the house and made a beeline for his pups. Pepper stood in the doorway to the nursery but quickly backed up when Tony appeared. A nesting Omega with pups to protect was a dangerous being. So much so that crimes committed by Omegas protecting their pups were often given a more lenient sentence.

Tony rushed past her and into the room, his pups cooed at him as he checked they were all there and unharmed. He knew Pepper would never hurt them, but his Omega instincts were on high-alert. When he was satisfied that they were okay, he turned back to the door. Pepper was gone but she wouldn't be far away.

He made his way to the living room where Pepper and Rhodey were both seated on the couch Tony used as a bed. They both looked up at him with wide eyes when he entered. Tony restrained the urge to lift his lip and snarl. His Omega instincts to protect his pups from strangers had been largely unchallenged since he took off with them. Now they were getting a chance to come to the forefront. It was disconcerting to eyeball his oldest friends and wonder if they were threats.

"You have pups." It wasn't a question from Pepper but a statement so Tony said nothing. "How?"

Tony laughed, a short humourless chuckle, "I asked myself almost the exact same thing."

Tony told them the whole sordid tale. From his meeting with Ross, where the Alpha forced him to sign the Accords, to Tony taking his pups on the run, then how JARVIS had hacked into everything, so Tony could find all that he needed. As he talked, he watched their expressions change from horror, to fear to anger and a gamut of other things Tony was too tired to interpret.

"Now, here we are, living in the middle of nowhere. I've had little contact with anyone aside from my landlady. So, how did you find me?"

Rhodey was the one to answer, "It wasn't easy, but we know you. More than you'd like to admit, I think. When you didn't come back, Pepper called me and said you were in trouble. After we still didn't hear from you, we figured you were either being held somewhere, or you were in hiding. Since we couldn't find you if you were being kept under wraps, we decided to start looking for you in places you would go. We looked at what you would need, what you might want. We didn't factor in pups, but we figured on a remote location, close to people but far enough away to be considered remote." Rhodey took a deep breath before continuing, his face pinched and his scent thick with agitation, "When the Accords came out with your signature we knew Ross had something on you, which is why you didn't come home. We just hoped you were free and alive and not rotting in some cell or worse."

Tony nodded, impressed by their ingenuity and luck. He wasn't going to touch that comment about rotting in a cell so he put a note of levity into his tone when he asked, "How many places did you check before this one?"

Pepper sighed, "Dozens. There are a lot of remote towns around the country, you know. We were just widening our circle when we came across this place. Don't worry, JARVIS deleted the search."

Tony breathed a sigh of relief. It would take a serious hacker to break JARVIS.

"So, are we going to meet our godchildren?" Pepper asked.

"Godchildren?" Tony blinked.

Pepper scoffed. "Oh please, who else are you going to get to be godparents? Besides, after all the things we put up with, we deserve godparent privileges."

Tony chuckled wetly. God, he'd missed them.

"Well then, Godmother Pepper and Godfather Rhodey," Tony drawled as he stood up, "Come and meet your godkids."

 ***** Page Break *****

"How have you been coping with ten pups on your own?" Pepper demanded with no small amount of panic and exasperation as she tried to jiggle Maria and Ryan back to sleep. The tiny twins had put on some weight and finally looked bigger than dolls, but they were still small. That was probably why Pepper thought they would be the easiest to handle. But she soon found out that the two were demanding little creatures who wanted everything their twin had, at the same time.

"A lot of luck, diapers, bottles, messes, tears, making do and praying to God or any deity who might listen," Tony remarked as he changed Aaron and put him down on the blanket with the others. The blond pup had decided to be clingy today though and refused to be set down. With a sigh, Tony picked him back up and cradled him in his arms along with Matthew as he took a seat on the couch. All the pups were restless, and Tony realised this was their first time meeting other people. They knew Tony and Josie – and hopefully didn't remember Ross or his minions – but they had never met another person in that time. Was that normal? Tony wasn't sure what the protocol was for introducing newcomers to pups. What age it was okay to do so. He really should have looked that up but it was probably lost on his mental checklist of 'Things to do in the future'.

"Feeding them must take a while," Rhodey remarked. He was sitting on the floor surrounded by pups. Natasha's little she-devils were playing with the back of his shirt and gurgling to each other. Storm was interested in the laces on Rhodey's boot, Caleb, as usual, was happy with his fish but kept a firm grip on one of Rhodey's fingers while he watched the mobile, and Bruce's little angels seemed to be trying to vocalise in sync with each other, making high-pitched squeals and low gurgles before waiting for the other to mimic it.

"As does taking care of what comes out the other end," Tony said with a shudder. How could such cute little beings make such horrifically smelly mess? Tony was a genius and he was sure he would never know the answer.

Pepper made a face. "Is that when the praying to God occurs?"

"No, that happens when I get nine of them to sleep and the tenth pup simply won't. Then when the final pup does nod off, another one wakes up. I've gone days without sleep working on projects and the Iron Man armour but dealing with pups on no sleep…it's an interesting experience."

"Interesting?"

"Not my ideal word choice but there are young ears present."

"Ah."

There was a moment of comfortable quiet between the adults before Pepper broke it to ask, "So, I can scent different Alphas belonging to the pups…do you know who they are?"

Tony had left that part out of the explanation earlier. He'd hoped to keep it under wraps, but he knew it would be burning in their minds. It would have been at the front of his mind if the situation was reversed.

"Well, this little blond monkey on my left is Aaron, sired by none other than our own Steve Rogers. In my right arm, I have Matthew, sired by a prince of Wakanda who I believe is now the king." Tony didn't let either of his friends comment as he quickly moved on to naming the rest of his pups, "In your arms, Pepper, are the premature yet oldest pups in the litter, Ryan and Maria, sired by our favourite archer, Clint Barton." He turned to the pups on the floor, "The little cutie obsessed with the fish mobile is Caleb and his sire is a former Hydra assassin known as the Winter Soldier and apparently James Barnes, brought back from the dead by some nefarious means I will one day figure out. Rhodey, the twins trying to eat your shirt are Vanessa and Alexis, sired by the infamous Natasha Romanov. The great big softie looking to unravel your laces is Storm, sired by the mighty Thor, Norse God and Prince of Asgard. And last but not least, the two talking to each other very loudly, are Mikaela and Daniella, sired by Bruce Banner and you can probably tell by the eyes that there's a bit of the Hulk thrown in there too."

Stunned silence.

"How the fu-…how the he-" Rhodey sighed, "How did that happen?"

"Ross hires good thieves. Whoever they are, I'm going to find them and hang them by their entrails," Tony said it so sweetly the pups didn't react to his tone but Pepper and Rhodey exchanged looks when they realised how serious he was.

"Well, leaving that macabre image aside…are you going to tell the Alphas?" Pepper asked quietly, "We'll support you if you don't, but I think living near several of them might be a bit of a giveaway."

"I'll tell them all one day, when it's safe," Tony said, he looked down to avoid meeting their eyes, "But I won't be living at the Tower for a while."

"What?!" their sharp cries startled the pups who whimpered and whined in fright. Tony glared at his friends as he settled the pups back down.

"It's not safe for us to go home yet. There are bound to be people still angry with me for signing the Accords, I can't put my pups in danger. Plus, I need to make sure that Ross and all of his friends are locked up tight."

"You leaked all that information?" Pepper asked, "How did you find it?"

"JARVIS."

"Of course."

More silence. Or as much silence as you can get with ten pups in the room.

"What do you need, Tony?" Rhodey asked.

Tony grinned at his friends. This was why he loved them. He started listing everything he wanted and needed, for himself and his pups, so that he could stay here for the long haul. He saw Pepper mentally making a list and knew she would replicate everything for the Tower. She would probably supervise a room being designed on his floor too.

"I also need you to not tell anyone where I am," Tony added, "I know the Avengers will be coming home soon, you can't tell them where I am yet."

"But Tony they'll be worried about you," Pepper tried to reason with him.

"Just worried?" Tony asked sarcastically, "Not furious or upset or blaming me for this mess?"

The hesitation before either answered did not fill Tony with good feelings.

"Once they learn of the pups, they'll understand you had no choice," Pepper said in a soothing voice. The same voice she'd always used to calm him down from a rant about idiots in the company.

"And if they don't, they're not worth your time," Rhodey remarked darkly. He shrugged at Tony's look, "If they're stupid enough to believe Ross over you, then they're not worth a minute of your worry or care. They'll figure out the truth on their own or they won't, either way they'll be the losers."

"Aww, you do love me, honey bear," Tony cooed, wiping away a fake tear that might be followed by real ones if he kept up this vein of conversation. Damn hormones.

"Put a sock in it, Stark," Rhodey snorted, grinning to show he was teasing.

The rest of the day continued with Rhodey and Pepper caring for the pups while Tony took a much-needed nap. It was the best five-hour sleep he had had in two months.

When Rhodey and Pepper headed back to New York, Tony waved them goodbye with no small amount of nostalgia and longing. He wished he could go with them, he wished his pups would be safe in New York, he wished the future was more certain.

Nothing was certain anymore.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Two days after Pepper and Rhodey headed home, JARVIS announced another vehicle was approaching. This time it was an unfamiliar one. Tony panicked, wondering if someone had followed Rhodey and Pepper. He rushed his pups into the van and was about the make for his exit, when JARVIS announced the identities of those in the car.

Steve Rogers.

Natasha Romanov.

Clint Barton.

"When did the Avengers get home?" Tony asked in a daze.

 _'_ _No media outlets have announced their arrival, Sir. It appears they snuck back into the country from wherever it was they were hiding.'_

Tony nodded vaguely and quickly got his pups resettled in their nursery. He looked them over from the door and then, with his stomach in knots, went to face the music. Rather than heading to the front door though, he went to the kitchen. He needed something to do with his hands, so he figured making them all drinks, even if it was just juice, would keep him occupied.

He looked down at himself and grimaced at his maternity shirt. It was big on him and snug on his chest. It made his condition as a breastfeeding Omega more than obvious. Too late to get changed now. Besides, what could he wear that would hide his boobs?

"Tony, we know you're in there," Steve's deep voice, tinged with anger and impatience, made Tony swallow a whimper. He almost dropped the four glasses he had gathered before composing himself. He knew the Alphas would be mad.

"Door's open," Tony called out as he set the glasses down and began pouring juice into them. He poured slowly because his hands shook as he listened intently for the door to swing open.

Steve strode in first, looking thunderous and righteous all rolled into one. Natasha followed, moving with her usual grace into the room with Clint stomping along behind her. Neither of the assassins looked at him, only Steve met his eyes. They all wore casual attire instead of their superhero uniforms but that didn't make them any less intimidating.

"Juice?" Tony asked, nudging a glass across the bench in Steve's direction.

Clint snorted but still didn't look at him. Natasha stared at the décor instead of Tony. Steve looked from the glass of juice then met Tony's eyes with an incredulous look.

"Seriously? Juice? You sold us out, endangered so many people by just signing your name and then disappearing, and you offer us juice?!"

 _When put that way, it doesn't sound very good._

Tony shrugged, trying not to let on how tense he was, "Well, there's no alcohol or coffee so it's juice or water."

Steve scoffed and stepped forward, closer to Tony. Tony straightened up a bit, leaning back. Steve narrowed his eyes then lifted his lip in a snarl. Alpha pheromones flooded the room.

"Why did you do it?" Steve demanded, harsh and loud.

Tony gulped. A shiver of awareness ran up his spine. Steve usually only used that voice in the bedroom. Captain America was a very put together Alpha. He didn't yell or growl. But in the bedroom…

"Seriously?" Steve snorted, rolling his eyes. Tony blushed, apparently, his arousal was easy to pick up on.

"We just need to know why," Steve reiterated, not breaking eye contact.

"First, I'd like to know why you have bigger breasts than I do," Natasha remarked casually from where she was leaning against the wall. Tony had been so focused on Steve, he hadn't noticed that Natasha had stopped looking around and had finally taken Tony himself in. Her face was blank but there was something in her eyes that sent a strange shiver up Tony's spine again. It wasn't arousal, nor was it fear, but a strange potent mix of the two.

"What?!" Suddenly he had two more pairs of eyes taking in his altered chest then staring wide eyed at Tony's flushed face.

"You're pregnant?" Clint sounded heartbroken. Tony quickly shook his head, unable to speak. He was afraid he'd say the wrong thing. For a person who could talk his way into and out of trouble on a regular basis, he became extremely tongue tied when it came to emotions and feelings. Instead he turned and walked stiffly toward the nursery. His protective Omega pheromones permeated the air as he heard all three follow him.

They would not hurt his pups. Much as he loved the Alphas, he'd kill them first. He entered the nursery and left the door open. Waited for the Alphas to enter.

Like before, Steve entered first. A lot slower and more hesitant than Tony had ever seen him. His nostrils flared, and his eyes grew wide as he regarded all the occupied cots.

"You wanted to know why," Tony rasped, hiking his chin up stubbornly, "They're the reason."

Silence from the Alphas as they stared around the room in awe and shock, identical looks of confusion and determination on their faces.

"How?"

Tony chuckled but there was no humour in the sound. It was little more than a release of nervous energy. "Everyone asks that. Better go take a seat, this could take a while." He'd never seen the Alphas so disconcerted. They slowly turned and did as he said. Even Natasha looked shocked by the revelation of pups.

He followed and waited for all three to take a seat on his couch/bed. He wasn't sure how to start things off, but he figured the beginning would be best.

"Remember the morning you two left on that mission? You woke me up with coffee and sex because Pepper needed to talk to me?" he received mechanical nods from Clint and Natasha, "Well, the person who demanded a meeting was General Ross." Tony paused for a moment, seeing the identical looks on the Alphas' faces. It was a mix of territorial aggression and impending realisation. "As usual, he wasn't up to good things, but he had a lot of friends who could make life difficult, so I went. The first thing he showed me was a little room with two pups in plastic bassinets."

Tony swallowed, he didn't like remembering that day. How violated and angry he'd felt; how powerless he'd been. The urge to scratch at his hypersensitive skin rose up and he gave into it, trying to rub the phantom fingers away. "When I had my reactor removed from my chest, Ross apparently had someone on standby to harvest some of my eggs, not enough to be noticed during the after-surgery exam, but enough to use. I don't know why he chose me, except that he could use the pups against me in the future."

"Only a few of the eggs were viable and Ross chose different sires for each. He stole DNA from several Alphas to fertilise the eggs. He was going to use them in his own army, as I'm sure you've heard about in the news. The media actually got that part right. He was obsessed with recreating the super soldier serum and he was going to experiment on the pups to see which formulas worked best, I guess. He didn't elaborate too much and frankly, I don't want to know what his mad plan was."

Tony paused and rubbed his mouth. He could feel sweat beading on his back and knew his distress pheromones were flooding the air. There was nothing he could do about it. Nothing that could make him feel better about the fate that might have befallen his pups.

"Here." Without him noticing, Clint had snuck into the kitchen and filled a glass of water for him. Gratefully, Tony took the glass and drained it quickly. Clint gently urged him to take a seat on the couch. It really wasn't made for four people to sit there without touching. Steve wrapped an arm around him and tugged him close, pulling him onto his lap in the middle of the couch. Natasha was on Steve's left and carded her fingers through Tony's sweaty hair; much longer than it had been two months ago. Clint pressed to Tony's back on Steve's right and rubbed soothing circles on Tony's shoulders while Steve's arms kept him safe.

He wanted to cry, he shuddered with the urge to bawl, to let out the tears he'd been holding in as much as he could since this situation began.

"Let it all out," Steve whispered, kissing Tony's neck, and that was the trigger, the end of holding it all in.

Tony cried so hard and so loud he might have scared the pups if he had left the door open. He cried so long he soaked Steve's shirt. He was vaguely aware of the Alphas stroking his hair and wiping the tears from his face with a cool cloth. Finally letting go was a freeing experience. He no longer felt alone. He felt exhausted and yet tentatively happy for the first time in too long.

When he had finally cried himself out, Tony lay limp and panting against Steve's chest. His eyes were swollen, head throbbing from the crying jag. He sighed in relief when a cool cloth dabbed at his face and neck.

"Want a shower?" Steve suggested, still holding Tony firmly.

Tony nodded, and Steve stood up with Tony still in his arms. Usually he would protest about how he could walk, and he was no maiden in distress. But it had been too long without his Alphas, too much stress and anxiety. He didn't have the energy to complain.

Steve helped him into the cabin's tiny bathroom and into the shower stall. There, Natasha slipped in behind Tony and helped him clean up. Neither of the male Alphas would fit into the small shower recess. It was a depressing reality that made Tony think of the past when he had had a shower big enough for all four of them to share.

 _How times have changed._

Natasha murmured softly in Russian as she manoeuvred him under the spray. Tony went willingly, enjoying being taken care of. He never thought he would be one of those Omegas who wanted their Alphas to pamper them, but he could certainly get used to this kind of treatment for a while.

When he was deemed clean and calm enough, Natasha urged him out of the shower and helped dry him off. Any other time, Tony would have used the delicate touches and their naked states to start some fun sexy times. Now he was more focused on breathing in the redheaded Alpha female's scent. Expensive perfume and ozone.

"Come on, let's go see what the boys have gotten up to." Natasha took his hand and pulled him back to the living room where Clint and Steve were murmuring to each other. They offered up tentative smiles when Natasha pulled Tony into the room.

"Hey, Tony, how are you feeling?" Steve asked, using a quiet voice as if he was worried that if he were too loud, he would scare Tony or something. Like the Omega was a frightened animal.

"Better," Tony said with a small smile in return. "What have you two been up to while I was getting a rub down by a sexy redhead?"

Natasha ushered him to the couch and pushed him back into Steve's lap. Tony grimaced at the mess he'd made of Steve's shirt. The Alpha solved the problem by simply taking the shirt off and then tucking Tony into his bare chest. Tony purred softly at the skin contact and gave a sigh of contentment.

"We found the file folders," Steve said, breaking the silence. Tony stiffened but relaxed slightly when Steve rumbled, a soothing Alpha noise of assurance and protection.

"We didn't look at them because we thought you should be the one to tell us when you're ready," Clint added.

Tony sighed, closing his eyes "You might as well look at them. I don't think I can explain it all right now. Just read the files then ask your questions."

Steve shifted Tony a bit so that he too could read the files with the Omega curled up in his lap. Tony heard paper shuffling but he kept his eyes closed and focused on Steve's heartbeat. The steady thump-thump was soothing to his frayed nerves.

Long minutes passed as the three Alphas poured through the files on the pups. Tony waited. Finally, the Alphas set the papers down and Tony knew it was time to wake up. He blinked open tired and gritty eyes to look up at the Alphas. "Questions?"

They all paused, as if unsure how to start. Then Steve spoke up, "You said earlier Ross only showed you two pups. How did you end up with ten?"

"He let something slip. Your pup and Barnes' pup were the only ones he was interested in, so he was going to…" Tony couldn't say it. He didn't need to, judging by the growls of the Alphas. "Once I knew there were more, I insisted on taking them. He didn't care."

"How did you leave with them? Did Ross just let you go?" Clint asked, his disbelieving tone saying that he didn't believe it for a moment.

"No. He set me up in a safe house of sorts. The single occupant in an empty, gated community. He had guards on the gate and security systems in place. When I found out what Ross' plan was for his two "soldiers" I ran as soon as I could."

"What was he going to do?" Steve demanded, a hint of a growl in his throat.

Tony explained the General's plan to accelerate the aging of the two pups and introduce the serums to make them invincible. He didn't know as much as he wanted about the process. He'd been too horrified by the very thought of it all. Now that kind of information would come in handy to make sure it never happened.

"But he didn't, right?" Clint asked anxiously, "He didn't jab anything into them?"

"Not that I know of," Tony assured him. He wished he could one hundred percent say for certain that nothing had been done to the pups. But the fact was, they had been alive for several days before Tony was introduced to them. Who knew what had been done to them? One of a growing list of questions to be saved for when he confronted Ross.

A long moment of silence followed before Natasha spoke up. "So, you ran here with the pups and you've been living here for the past two months. You leaked all that info about Ross and his associates to the press and now they'll all go down for it. Why didn't you come home?"

Tony took a deep breath. "It wasn't safe, not at first and I'm not sure it is now. So many people hate me for what I did. Do you really think they'd give me the chance to explain?"

More silence did not make Tony feel better.

"Why didn't you call us?" Steve asked, quiet again.

Tony hesitated. "I wasn't sure what you would say, how you would react. I mean the pups are yours, but some aren't, Alphas have killed pups and Omegas in the past for less. I wasn't sure if you blamed me too. Do you?"

"No." There was no hesitation, no other words. All three Alphas said the same thing at the same time. Tony smiled in relief.

"Can we see them?" Natasha asked. No small amount of longing in her voice. The murmurs of agreement from the other Alphas made Tony's smile morph into a grin.

"Sure, wait here." Tony stood and made his way to the nursery.

Aaron was awake and playing with his blanket. He gurgled when he saw Tony, madly waving his arms as much as a two-month old could. Tony smiled fondly at his son and picked him up, cradling him carefully. He took a deep breath and made his way to the living room.

The three Alphas sat still as statues on the couch when Tony appeared, Aaron swaddled in a blanket to keep him warm.

Tony gently offered the pup to Steve. Nerves fluttered in his tummy at handing his pup over to the sire for the first time. Aaron cooed at the new face and studied Steve in fascination.

"Steve, this is your son, Aaron." Tony settled the pup in the Alphas arms and took a step back, watching as the Alpha stared down in awe. Tony watched the other two crowd the Alpha and pup, trying to catch a peek at the swaddled infant.

Tony hesitated in leaving the room but eventually he forced himself to move back to the nursery. He juggled Ryan and Maria into his arms and kissed their foreheads. The drowsy twins blinked at him with their sire's eyes.

"Let's go meet daddy," he murmured to them as he walked out of the nursery.

Steve hadn't taken his eyes off Aaron but the other two looked up when Tony entered.

Tony offered the twins to Clint who, wide-eyed and startled, hesitantly accepted them.

"They're tiny," Clint murmured.

"They were premature and they're twins. They were on ventilators for a short while after birth. By the time I got them they were breathing better," Tony explained. Clint looked worried as he looked from one to the other. "Don't let their tiny bodies fool you, when they're awake, they're demanding little demons. They'll run you ragged without even trying."

Clint gulped, "What are their names?"

"Ryan and Maria."

Clint nodded. "Beautiful."

Tony flushed with delight at how much the Alpha was taken with his children. He left the room a lot easier than before.

Vanessa and Alexis were murmuring to each other. Probably plotting how to escape their cribs when they developed the proper dexterity. Tony scooped the two pups up and headed out. Natasha was almost vibrating in place on the couch. Unusual behaviour for the normally stoic Alpha.

Tony grinned when she eagerly reached out for the pups. "Natasha, meet your little hellcats in training, Vanessa and Alexis."

Natasha stared down at the two pups in her arms and looked like she might cry. Tony turned to check on the others and found the Alphas were as equally enamoured with their pups as Natasha was.

Tony felt his heart swell with love for these Alphas.

A soft cry came from the nursery and Tony hurried to take care of the rest of his litter, bringing them out one by one to settle on the floor.

"Who are these little cuties?" Clint asked, dragging his eyes from his own pups to grin at the ones on the floor.

Tony puffed up proudly. "This big boy is Storm you can probably tell by his size that his sire is a certain God of Thunder. These two with the bright eyes, are Bruce's, Mikaela and Daniella. Mr. I-love-fish is Barnes' pup, Caleb, and this chocolate coloured sweetheart is Matthew, son of the king of Wakanda."

"T'Challa." Steve nodded, "I can see that."

Tony jolted, "You know him?"

Steve hesitated then nodded, "We met him while we were fighting the Accords. He came for Bucky. T'Challa blamed Bucky for the murder of Tchalla's father. He didn't do it though, he was framed, and when T'Challa found out he'd been played, he offered us sanctuary in Wakanda."

Tony nodded slowly. So, that was where they had been. He hesitated to ask about T'Challa. He felt like the topic could wait for later, when they were on a more even keel. He was also curious about Barnes' whereabouts but the flicker of a frown on Steve's brow indicated the topic was likely full of minefields.

"Anyone else hungry?" Steve asked. All three adults nodded eagerly. Steve was a great cook. He could make a decent meal out of just about anything. Tony had dearly missed the cuisine available back home.

Aaron began fussing, right on time. Tony stood up and took the blond pup from Steve. "I'll feed this lot, you start making dinner."

"Wont this take you a long time?" Clint asked, no doubt doing the math of ten pups being fed from two breasts.

Tony smirked, "The magic of Omega breastmilk. They get their fill a lot quicker. But yes, it will take a while. Thankfully, I can multitask. So, you three get to making dinner while I give the pups theirs."

Reluctantly the Alphas left the room. Tony set to feeding Aaron and Caleb. He looked around at all his children. "I think we might be okay."

 ***** Page Break *****

The couch bed was not made for four people. It was barely made for one. Tony ended up bunking with Natasha while Steve stretched out on the floor and Clint perched on an arm chair. Tony envied their ability to fall asleep just about anywhere.

He slept better than he had in months, knowing all three Alphas were near. He woke up to the midnight feeding of the pups feeling better rested than he thought he would. He snuck into the nursery and fed the pups, trying not to wake up the Alphas. He should have known it was pointless.

No sooner had he settled with the first two pups, did the Alphas all stroll into the room and start helping. It was touching and amusing to see them so out of their comfort zone.

Steve cooked breakfast after the pups' next feeding and once they were settled, the adults all sat on the couch eating and watching the TV for any news.

"You guys haven't made it into the news yet," Tony noted, "How did you hide that?"

"Pepper."

Tony just nodded. So, Pepper knew the Avengers were back home. At least they had help. "Have you heard from Thor or Bruce lately?"

"No word from either." Steve sighed.

"No news is good news, right?" Clint added. None of them believed it.

"Will you come home with us?" Steve asked. Tony froze, spoon of muesli half way to his mouth.

"Not yet." Tony murmured quietly. "I want to, but I need it to be safe. For me and the pups."

"We'll do everything we can to make sure that happens," Steve swore. The other Alphas nodded in agreement.

"I believe you." That was all that needed to be said.

They spent the day caring for the pups and getting to know each other again in between eating the delicious meals Steve cooked. Tony felt more at home than he ever had in the cabin.

"Are we still going to be a Pride?" Clint asked as they were cleaning up the dishes. Tony almost choked on his tongue at the abrupt change in topic.

"How did a conversation on colour schemes for the babies turn into one about mating?" Tony asked as he gingerly probed his inner cheek where he'd bit into it.

"Well, you know the old rhyme. First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes a baby in a baby carriage," Clint explained. "We sorta skipped the marriage part because of an interfering General who I hope to never see alive again. But mating was on the table before this all started, and I was wondering if it still was."

Tony regarded them all thoughtfully. Honestly, the thought of mating had slipped his mind for most of the past two months. He'd been so worried about many other things that he hadn't had time to think about if he might end up mated to his Alphas.

"Do you still want to mate?" Tony asked softly, "I mean, I come with a whole lot of baggage now. Ten pups."

"They're ours too," Steve said firmly. "Biologically or not, they're our pups. We love them already."

"Yeah, you think I let just anyone upchuck on my shirt?" Clint gestured to the washing machine where his shirt was still rinsing after being used as a burp rag by Caleb.

Tony smiled a little at the reminder.

"I think I speak for all three of us," Natasha gestured to Steve, Clint and herself, "when I say we would still very much like you to be our Pride Omega. The real question is: do you still want to join with us? After all there are no laws saying you must mate with the sires of your pups. You could raise them on your own, with or without our help if you wish."

It was true. Laws concerning Omega rights no longer forced an Omega to tie themselves to the sire or sires of their pups. Only if the Omega chose, could the Alphas be permitted to aid in the raising and care of the pups. A lot of couples lived together as a family unit without bonding as mates. Tony himself had been raised to be an independent Omega. After seeing how his father treated his mother, he had sworn never to tie himself to an Alpha.

But now that he was older, hopefully wiser, and certainly more mature, Tony realised that that way of life simply wasn't for him. He wanted to be bound to his Alpha, to have a true bond with someone he loved and who loved him.

"I'm still open to mating," Tony said before he could let nerves change his mind. The reaction from the Alphas was well worth it. Clint whooped, Natasha smiled, Steve's face lit up.

Their enthusiasm ramped up his own and Tony smiled back shyly. He felt a little giddy with excitement just thinking about it.

 ** _Flashback_**

Clint had been the first one to approach him about bonding. In his usual non-subtle way, he'd strutted up to Tony in his workshop while he was calibrating a piece for the Iron Man armour.

"Hey, so, you like me, right?" Clint asked in probably what he assumed was a casual tone.

Tony quirked an eyebrow at the archer, wondering if this was a prank of some sort. "Sure, I like you birdbrain. What of it?"

"Would you mate with me?"

Tony dropped the wrench he'd been using and gaped at the archer in astonishment. Clint stared back, undaunted.

"Are you being serious or this some weird rhetorical thing you're going to use to prank me later?" Tony asked when he'd finally gathered enough of his considerable IQ to react.

Clint shook his head, "This is one hundred percent serious. Which is rare for me, you know? I hate being serious."

"I've gathered," Tony replied automatically. He took a deep breath and rubbed his neck, "So are you actually asking me to mate with you?"

"Well, not right now. I mean we know each other but not, like, very well or sexually or anything. I was really just wondering if you'd let me court you, but I wanted to know what your thoughts on mating were first," Clint explained, looking just the tiniest bit fidgety.

"You want to court me?" Tony asked.

Clint nodded. They remained in silence just looking at each other for several long moments.

"Yes," Tony said, quietly, almost surprising himself.

Clint grinned, face beaming, "Really?!" he shrieked like a ten-year-old girl and leapt forward to wrap his arms around Tony. Tony grimaced at the tightness of those arms but couldn't help but notice the defined muscles. Damn, the archer was built.

Clint thanked Tony then bounded away. The first step of courting was traditionally, preparing food so presumably the Alpha was off to get something for them to eat. Tony watched him go with a strange feeling of detachment. Was this a good idea?

"I didn't think you would say yes," Natasha's voice coming from behind him made him jump, though he tried to hide it.

"I wasn't sure I would either," he admitted.

"Are you actually going to try or are you setting the two of you up to fail?" Natasha asked, her serious ninja-assassin face on.

"Glad you think so little of me," Tony snarked, trying not to let on how much it hurt.

"I think the world of you." That bland tone made Tony wonder if he'd heard her correctly. He frowned, looking at Natasha questioningly. She didn't flinch or lower her gaze. She didn't really react at all. Instead she regarded him solemnly. Tony was about to ask when she beat him to it. "Yes, you heard me."

"Okay." Tony wasn't sure what to make of her comment.

Natasha tilted her head a little to the side, "So, you'll allow Clint to court you. Are you open to more than one Alpha?"

Tony opened his mouth…and couldn't think of anything to say.

"Would you allow me to court you?" Natasha asked without breaking eye contact.

Tony opened his mouth again and finally spoke. "Yes." Just as quiet as when he said yes to Clint. Wait, Clint. Tony frowned, "So long as Clint is agreeable." It was common courtesy when already courting an Alpha, to converse with said Alpha when a new one asked to join the courtship.

Natasha finally offered a small smile. "Good idea. Let me know what he says." With that she left and once again, Tony was alone in the workshop.

Clint had been happy to share the courting with Natasha. He'd even done a little happy dance when Tony asked him.

Word of their courtship spread through the Tower quickly and about a week later, Bruce shuffled up and, in his awkward self-deprecating way, asked if Tony would allow Bruce to court him. Both Natasha and Clint okayed it and the trio became a quartet.

Thor generally had the subtlety of a bull in a china shop. And when he asked Tony if he might court him, the Asgardian didn't stray from that. He strode up to Tony at breakfast one morning and presented him with flowers, asking in his loud booming voice if Tony would allow courtship rights. His other potential Alphas had agreed and for about a month after that, the five of them made a decent go of it.

Then Steve stepped up and threw his hat in the ring. Suddenly the Tower was a love fest of genuine affection, blossoming attraction and attempts at courting rituals.

 ** _End Flashback_**

Right up until the day Tony met with General Ross, Tony had thought it was all pretty much perfect.

Now there were pups, two of his potential Alphas were missing in action, there might be the introduction of another Alpha when T'Challa realised he and Tony shared a son and the chaos of the past few months had led to a lot of potential danger for them all.

 _Let's not even mention the can of worms that is the Winter Soldier situation_.

But they were starting to come together, and Tony had hope, for the first time in months, that he might get his happily ever after.

 ***** Page Break *****

The Alphas left a few days later to head back to New York. Tony watched on the news as they made their first public appearance much to the relief of the public. They moved back into the Tower and started making changes to the Accords. They went on missions, some public and others not. Tony ached to join them.

They started explaining to the public that they didn't blame Tony for his signature on the Accords. They claimed that Tony had been coerced into signing. Not everyone believed them but it was a start.

"Your sires are doing good work," Tony cooed to his pups, "Maybe we'll get to go home soon."

Days passed, and Tony watched from afar as the three members of the Avengers worked to get things back to the way they should be. With help from Pepper and SHIELD personnel, they were getting the job done. It was a load off Tony's mind.

Then Bruce showed up in New York. On one of the televised missions, the Avengers were joined by the Hulk. They didn't seem surprised to see him, so Tony guessed Bruce had snuck into the city some time ago. He breathed a sigh of relief that Bruce was home again, but he was going to have a serious talk with the Alpha when they finally met up in person.

T'Challa showed up onscreen for the first time a few days after Bruce. Tony watched in awe and fascination as the Black Panther fought alongside the Avengers to get rid of the robotic dogs that Dr Doom had fashioned.

"Your sire's kinda hot," Tony murmured to Matthew after watching a replay of the mission. Matthew gurgled and blew a spit bubble.

When the pups were three months old, a portal opened over New York and spat out Thor. Tony watched the scraggly looking prince being helped away by Steve and Bruce. He bit his lip. Had his father hurt him? The fact that Thor had been missing so long wasn't exactly a glowing recommendation from Dad that things were fine.

The Avengers, bar Tony, were now back together in the Tower, plus a new member.

Was it time to go home?

Things in the media had settled down somewhat. Instead of outright condemning him, most were simply contemplating his motives. At least if they were questioning, they weren't publicly blaming him. Right?

It might be safe enough to return to New York.

Still, it took another week before Pepper came by again. She showed up on a Sunday, the cool air made everything in the house uncomfortably cold. The pups were upset with the harsh temperature and made it known with their grumpy fussing over everything.

Pepper met his eye after greeting him and said, "It's time to come home."

Tony just looked at her for a long moment. Do or die time. If he didn't come home now, would he ever be ready?

"Help me with the pups."

Pepper grinned at him, full of delight and relief. One by one, the pups and all accumulated belongings were loaded into the van or Pepper's car.

Josie dropped by as Tony was loading the last of his things. The older woman simply smiled and kissed his cheek. "I had a feeling you'd be going home soon."

 _How on earth could she know that?_

Tony didn't voice the question out loud, though a part of him wanted to. Instead he smiled in return and thanked her, whole-heartedly, for her accommodation.

She waved it off and watched from the porch as Tony followed Pepper down the mountain. One turn on the road and both the cabin and Josie disappeared completely. Some odd sense of nostalgia hit Tony as he left his mountain refuge.

But he was going home. Finally, he was going home.

They arrived in the city late at night. The Tower was quiet but powered on with a familiar hum as Tony carried his pups carefully from the van and into the elevator to his private floor.

"I supervised a nursery set up after I met the pups. You should find everything you need in there." Pepper said as they ascended to Tony's floor.

"Does anyone else know I'm here?" Tony asked.

"No. I didn't want to get their hopes up if you said no," Pepper replied.

Yet when the doors opened, they were greeted by the sight of Steve pacing in front of the elevator. His face lit up as soon as he saw Tony and the pups. "You're here."

"Yeah, I am." Tony remarked, gratefully surrendering Aaron to his sire. Steve helped carry the pups to the nursery and set them up in the assigned cots. Soon enough they would grow too big to be in the room together, then Tony would have to decide how to assign rooms.

Once the pups were comfortable in their cots, Pepper went home, leaving Tony and Steve alone.

"So, tell me what's been going on?" Tony said, trying not to yawn.

Steve smiled fondly. "Not until you've had some sleep. You're exhausted. Let's get you into bed and in the morning, we'll talk."

Tony didn't need any more encouragement. He docilely followed Steve into the bedroom and after having a quick shower and being dressed in his pyjamas, he sank into familiar sheets with Steve wrapped around him.

He slept, because now he was home and he was safe.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Tony woke up suddenly, confused and disoriented. The sun was coming in the wrong window, the bed was too soft, he couldn't hear the humming of the fridge, was the power out? Where were the pups? Why was he so warm?

"Easy, Tony, it's okay, you're back home," Steve's familiar baritone soothed Tony like nothing else and he relaxed instantly. He was home, he was safe.

Tony sighed and then stretched out his tired limbs. He felt refreshed but also like he'd slept in one position all night, meaning his muscles were protesting any kind of movement.

"The pups?" Tony mumbled.

"Natasha and Clint are watching them, but they'll be waking up soon for their breakfast, if they're keeping with the schedule they had last time we saw them," Steve said softly, rubbing a hand along Tony's back in a soothing motion.

Tony grumbled nonsensically then shifted up into a seated position. Steve followed, and Tony ogled the naked chest at eyelevel. It really was magnificent.

"Eyes up here," Steve chuckled, not at all offended. Tony didn't blush, he was pretty much beyond that at this point, but he smirked coyly when he met Steve's eyes as ordered. The Alpha was the one to blush and Tony laughed outright. It felt good to laugh. He hadn't done it in a long time.

"So, feed the pups then the adults?" Tony asked, giving Steve an escape from his embarrassment.

Steve agreed, and they reluctantly climbed out of bed. Tony was given some of his old clothes and he sighed in relief at the familiar clothing textures on his skin. It was like slipping on an old blanket; familiar and comforting. A bit of Tony's old life was here, waiting for him. He just had to find the rest.

Tony followed Steve to the nursery because he couldn't remember where it was; not that he would admit it. As promised, Clint and Natasha were watching over the pups as they grizzled with their morning temper.

"Morning, Tony," Clint said, bounding forward to bring Tony into a kiss. Tony chuckled into the archer's lips when Clint used the opportunity to insert his tongue into Tony's mouth.

"All right, you two, innocent eyes here," Steve scolded, but the envy in his tone was clear.

"Aww, come here, Steve," Tony turned and offered his own lips up to the blond. Steve didn't hesitate and gifted Tony with a sizzling kiss. Natasha tugged him away to plant one on him next.

Tony would have liked for the kissing to go further but it was not to be. Storm, usually a calm and sweet baby, was not a happy pup when it came to waiting for food. He made his displeasure known with a loud cry that started several of the other pups going.

Reluctantly, Tony pulled away from his Alphas and went to feed his pups. By the time he was done, Steve had made breakfast and ushered Tony to the kitchen to eat. The four of them ate in companionable silence. Tony filled up on food without worrying about having to get more.

"You've lost weight," Natasha noted with a frown.

Tony shrugged, "Getting food meant leaving the cabin and every time I did I risked being recognised. So, I bought in bulk and had Josie pick things up when I could. She was great, very helpful."

"Who's Josie?" Steve asked, a hint of a growl in his voice.

Tony rolled his eyes, "Down, boy. She was my landlady and an Omega." Steve deflated, looking chastised.

"You can charm anyone, can't you, Tony?" Clint snickered before yelping when Natasha elbowed him in the side.

"I'm not going to dignify that," Tony remarked.

Before Clint could come up with a response, Natasha slapped a hand over his mouth and shot him a Look. The archer went quiet. That particularly Look had been known to make hardened criminals cry. Tony commended Clint for wisely choosing to remain silent.

"So," Steve began, looking nervous, "Thor and Bruce are here."

"I saw that on the news," Tony said quietly, not sure how to feel. Both had been his courting Alphas, potential mates, and both had left him. Bruce had run off to protect himself and probably all those around him. Thor had disappeared back home and who knew what had gone on there. Tony was just glad no one had brought up T'Challa.

 _One issue at a time._

"Are you going to talk to them?" Steve asked.

Tony sighed, "I guess I have to. Have they explained why they left and stayed away?"

Steve hesitated but then ploughed on, "Bruce left because of Ross. When the General showed up, he got scared. He ran because he was trying to protect us. And when Ross was arrested he started making his way home."

Tony nodded, understanding but not very satisfied with that explanation. "How about Thor?"

Steve's lips thinned, "His father wasn't very happy about Thor moving to Earth to bond with us. Odin kept coming up with excuses for Thor to remain on Asgard and when they finally ran out, Odin used his pull to keep Thor there by force. Thor's friends came through for him and managed to help him escape, but you can bet the Allfather isn't happy and Thor's not exactly pleased with how things turned out either."

"Is he okay? Was he hurt?" Tony demanded, jumping to his feet.

Steve gently pushed him back down, "He's fine. He's angry that so much time has passed here, apparently time goes by differently on Asgard. He's understandably furious with his father, but otherwise okay. He's looking forward to seeing you when you're ready."

Tony nodded sharply and drained the last of his juice. Still no coffee…it was practically blasphemous that he was cut off from his lifeblood.

"Can you bring them here? Maybe one at a time, I think," Tone spoke without looking up from his plate where he was chasing crumbs for something to do. "I don't mind who's first."

Steve stood up from the table and left without a word. If he had reacted at all to the request, Tony didn't see it.

"Let's go put in a movie. You want to watch some cartoons?" Clint asked, tugging Tony up and dragging him into the living room.

"Cartoons, Barton? How old are you?"

"The same age as you, so shut up, you know you love 'em."

Tony let himself be manoeuvred to the couch and placed between the two Alphas while Clint selected a cartoon to watch. He let himself just drift as he watched…something, he wasn't entirely sure what the show was. He leant his head against Natasha's shoulder and allowed Clint to tug his feet into his lap. He sighed as Clint rubbed his feet and Natasha played with his hair. The attention was nice.

"Tony?" Steve appeared and spoke softly, as if afraid to disturb the moment. Tony yawned at him but gave Steve his attention. "I've brought Thor, do you want us to stay?"

Tony hesitated but then shook his head. It would be best if he was alone to talk to Thor. This conversation would need to be as private as possible.

Natasha and Clint slipped away with Steve as Thor strode in, wearing Earth civilian clothes. He was fond of jeans and flannel for some reason. Tony had often joked about seeing the buff blond in leather, the image had inspired many sessions with his right hand. That long red cape of Thor's just hid too much.

Tugging his thoughts out of the gutter, Tony stood and smiled a little nervously at the Alpha. Thor beamed at him and strode forward to within arm's reach before he hesitated, a slightly uncertain look entering his eyes.

"Hey, Thor," Tony murmured, resisting the urge to address the Alpha by one of the many nicknames he'd given him. Those were a deflection technique and now was not the time.

"Tony," Thor rumbled, his voice as deep and sexy as always. He reached out and brushed a hand along Tony's cheek, his thumb stroking underneath the eye. Tony leant into the contact with a contented sigh. Thor seemed to take this as encouragement and he moved closer, pressing up against Tony while looping his free arm around the Omega's waist.

"We have a lot to talk about, big guy," Tony murmured, revelling in the contact as his inner Omega preened at the attention.

"Aye, in a moment, my love," Thor rumbled, "Just let me hold you."

Tony didn't say anything, he just pressed closer and closed his eyes. The Alpha was like a furnace and Tony couldn't tell where his body ended, and the Alpha's began, he was enveloped by warmth and love.

And it felt damn good.

 ***** Page Break *****

They moved to the couch and sat next to each other, no more than an inch of space between them. Thor held onto Tony's hands tightly, as if afraid to let go.

"What happened?" Tony asked, "Why were you gone so long?"

Thor stiffened and there was a definite growl in his voice when he spoke. "I went home to Asgard, to ask my father for permission to court you. He refused, and when I said I would stand down as heir to the throne, he decided to teach me the error of my thoughts."

Tony snarled, startling himself. He hated thinking of his Alpha being hurt. He could only imagine what the Allfather thought was an appropriate punishment. This was a man who had banished Thor to another realm where he was hunted and had no way to protect himself. Thor was just lucky it had turned out all right. Tony considered asking for specifics but decided he didn't want to know. Perhaps someday, but for now he was sure it wouldn't help anyone to know all the nitty-gritty details.

"Did he change your mind?" it was something Tony needed to hear before he continued.

Thor growled, low and territorial. The sound sent a shiver of delight up Tony's spine. "No. I don't believe there is anything within the Nine Realms that could change my mind. My father's blessing would have been nice, but I don't need it. I love you and this Pride we are forming. I want this to be my life."

Tony had relaxed as soon as Thor said 'no'. He smiled goofily up at his Alpha, "Just so we're clear, that option is still on the table. I would love to be your Omega."

Thor leant down and tenderly kissed Tony on the lips. It wasn't a hot and sexy kiss. It was a soft and reassuring peck on the lips. Tony revelled in another piece of his Pride coming together. They exchanged soft kisses and touches for several minutes before Thor leant back, a small frown on his face.

"Where have you been? The good Captain has informed me that you disappeared roughly three of your months ago, is that correct?"

"Yeah, pretty much." Tony sighed. "Well, that's a long story and I'm not sure where to begin."

"From the beginning is usually best."

"Yeah, but that's the most complicated bit." Tony sighed, "Come with me."

He stood up and tugged the large Alpha with him as he made his way to the nursery. This was a very important moment. Thor's reaction now could colour their relationship from today.

Tony softly slid the door open and slipped inside, Thor behind him. The cots, with their slumbering occupants, were easy to see even in the dim light. He heard Thor's breath hitch, the Alpha scenting the air. He led the way to one of the cots and looked down at Storm. The large pup didn't stir, just continued sleeping on his back in the adorable frog onesie Pepper had provided the night before. She'd apparently done a lot of shopping since finding out about the pups. Tony had yet to see most of it but he was sure it involved a lot more cute onesies.

"His name is Storm." Tony whispered, "He's yours."

Thor reached tentative fingers into the cot and stroked one down the side of Storm's face. The baby snuffled but didn't wake.

"How?" Thor asked, his voice rough and full of so much emotion it was hard to pinpoint just one.

Tony ushered the Alpha out of the room much to Thor's obvious objections. The pups needed sleep and Tony had the feeling their conversation could get loud. When they were a safe distance away, Tony turned to face his Alpha and began speaking. He told Thor about going to meet with Ross, how the General had forced him to sign the Accords in exchange for the ten pups, how Tony had escaped to protect them all and hidden away as best he could. By the end, Tony felt like he'd run a marathon. He would have to explain this several more times and he wasn't looking forward to reliving the roller coaster each time.

Thor snarled wordlessly, tugging Tony closer to his rumbling chest as if he was afraid the Omega would disappear. Tony let him, enjoying the proximity. "I will kill him, for you, for our son, for the other pups. I will kill this General Ross and present you with his head."

"Sweet as that sounds, big guy, you're not exactly subtle, nor can you blend in. You'll be arrested and locked up." Tony hushed the Alpha when he went to protest, "Don't worry. He won't ever be free. He and his minions will get justice. And if it looks like he'll somehow squeak through, I'll kill him myself. An Omega with pups can get away with almost anything if there is a proven threat to their pups."

Thor didn't look happy but something on Tony's face must have pleased him because a small smile appeared, "My bloodthirsty Omega will get what he wishes."

Tony nodded slowly, not sure if there was some hidden meaning there or not. He changed the subject, "So, about the pups…what do you think about Storm?"

Thor's face split into his signature grin and Tony relaxed as he listened to several minutes of praise from the proud sire. Thor asked questions about his son and Tony gladly answered them. It was nice to share everything he'd learnt about his pups with someone else.

"He will be a mighty warrior one day," Thor lamented ten minutes later. He sighed, sounding both satisfied and proud. "He will do his ancestors proud."

"And his sire," Tony added. Thor beamed and tugged Tony into a hug, settling the Omega into the curve of his larger body.

Tony would have liked to have spent longer in that moment but there were some pressing issues worrying him that needed asking. "So, what about Asgard?"

Thor stiffened, "Asgard?"

"Will they come looking for you? Will your father?"

"No, my mother commands Asgard for now. Eventually I must return and battle for the right to rule, but until then, she has decreed I may do as I wish. No one will come here for me, for us. We are safe."

Tony slumped in relief, "What about Storm? Will they come for him once they know about him?"

Thor was silent for a long moment, then, "They will not harm him or they will face my wrath, and the wrath of my mother. She may be a mild-mannered queen most of the time, but there was a reason Odin chose her for his bride. She is a fierce warrior when meddled with. She will not take kindly to anyone threatening her first grandchild."

Tony chuckled. He would like to meet Frigga one day. She sounded like one tough woman. Between her and Pepper, they could probably rule the universe. So, it was probably a good idea that those two never meet.

"So, we're safe from Asgardians popping in, you don't have to go back home anytime soon, anything else I should know?" Tony asked, leaning his head back to look at Thor's face.

Thor thought for a moment then shook his head. "We are safe, love. We are together again. I will be greatly honoured if you allow me to continue courting you."

"I thought we'd already touched on that," Tony teased, "You're still my courting Alpha, hopefully going to be my bound Alpha in the future and part of my Pride."

Thor beamed again. He really had a radiant smile. Tony snuggled closer and breathed in the powerful scent of his alien Alpha.

A soft cry came from the nursery and ruined the moment. As if they had been waiting, Steve, Natasha and Clint, materialised from wherever they had been hiding and rushed into the nursery. Tony watched in amusement as they disappeared as quickly as they had appeared. "I don't know how they do that but I want them to teach me one day."

"'Tis a skill not for us," Thor spoke in a serious tone, eyes sparkling with mirth when Tony poked his tongue out at him.

"Well, no matter how stealthy they are, there are some things they can't give the pups," Tony stood and stretched, tugging Thor along behind him as they made their way to the nursery to feed the hungry pups.

 ***** Page Break *****

Bruce didn't come to Tony, instead the Omega had to track down his wayward Alpha in between feeding his pups. It wasn't the way he wanted to talk to the scientist, but Bruce left him with no other option.

Tony found him hunched over one of his lab tables reading papers. Tony watched from the doorway as Bruce's focus didn't waver from the words on the page. That focus was one of the reasons Tony loved him. That attention to detail. Plus, Bruce could be so sweet when it was just the two of them.

"Are you going to stand there all day?"

Tony jumped, jerked from his musing to find Bruce setting his glasses aside and glancing at Tony with a side-eye look.

"I didn't want to interrupt."

Bruce inclined his head and then turned to face Tony full on, still sitting in his lab chair. His eyes were shadowed and tired looking, his mouth had strain lines around it and he looked like he hadn't smiled in months.

"You look like shit," Tony blurted, unable to help himself.

Bruce snorted, "Still blunt."

Tony shrugged, unrepentant.

Bruce sighed, "You look good." He frowned and seemed to look closer at Tony, who fought the urge to cross his arms over his inflated chest. He could almost see Bruce's mind ticking over, trying to figure something out. Tony watched as something finally clicked in the Alphas mind and his eyes widened, face paling.

"Tony?"

Tony watched with a hint of worry as a tinge of green appeared on Bruce's neck and his breathing increased until he was almost panting.

"Bruce, calm down, honey." Tony cautiously approached and reached out to stroke the Alpha's cheek. Bruce snatched Tony's wrist and pressed his nose to the pulse point, inhaling deeply. Tony let him, wondering what conclusion he was coming to. He knew he smelt of the other Alphas and his pups and milk.

"Tony?" Bruce repeated, sounding lost, "You have pups?"

"I do." Tony replied calmly, even as his heart pounded nervously.

Bruce shuddered in a breath, "How?"

Tony took a deep breath and explained. He watched Bruce closely as he explained about Ross and the Accords and everything before, during and after up until Tony returned to the Tower. When he was done, he waited for Bruce's reaction. He wasn't sure what to expect. Bruce wasn't the most predictable of people.

He certainly wasn't expecting Bruce to burst into tears and clutch Tony to him like a child hugging his favourite teddy. Bruce looped his arms around Tony's waist and buried his face in Tony's stomach as his body heaved with heavy, loud sobs. Tony ran his hands through the Alphas' hair and made soft crooning noises, helplessly watching as Bruce fell apart.

Time passed and slowly Bruce's sobs quietened. Tony kept stroking the Alpha's sweaty hair and waited for the death grip around his waist to loosen. It took several more minutes but eventually Bruce's arms fell away and he sat back. His face was pale and his eyes bloodshot.

"Are you feeling better?" Tony asked quietly.

Bruce nodded wordlessly, looking a little lost, "Can I, uh, can I see them?"

Tony smiled and gently urged Bruce to his feet before ushering him to the elevator. He knew the other Alphas would be cloistered with the pups, but he hoped none of them made mention of Bruce's dishevelled appearance.

Bruce followed like a lamb. He didn't say a word as Tony led the way to the nursery where the other Alphas were settled at various places in the room with their pups. They usually spread the love around to the pups that weren't their biological offspring, but at Tony's request, Mikaela and Daniella were still in their cribs.

Tony smiled at the other Alphas who took their pups and left the room quietly as Tony led Bruce to the two occupied cots.

Bruce's twins were dozing, not really sleeping but happy to lie there relaxing. Tony rubbed Daniella's cheek and the pup opened her eyes, blinking hazily.

Bruce inhaled sharply, "Their eyes…"

"They're fine," Tony assured him, "Their eyes changed a while ago and we haven't seen any Hulk behaviour. We think it's just their natural eye colour."

Bruce nodded, looking dazed. "They're beautiful."

Tony beamed with pride. They were his pups, they were all beautiful. But it was nice when others agreed.

"What are their names?"

"Daniella and Mikaela. Is that okay?"

"It's perfect." Bruce was saying all the right things and he looked so besotted with the twins. "So, they're okay? No…Hulk?"

"No sign yet. I've been watching them but so far, they're normal pups. We'll worry about it if it happens."

Bruce looked a little hesitant but nodded anyway. It was hard for the Alpha to trust the motives of others. Even though he loved Tony, and Tony loved him, his issues still dogged him. It was disappointing to see the reaction after all this time but Tony was used to it. He might not be a patient man all the time, but for the ones he loved, he'd put up with almost anything.

"Want to hold one?" Tony asked. Bruce nodded eagerly and accepted Daniella into his arms. The pup murmured and reached up to touch Bruce's stubble-laden cheek. Tony picked up Mikaela so the twins could still see each other. They got upset if they were out of each other's sight for too long.

Tony watched as Bruce held his daughter and felt his heart melt. There was nothing quite like seeing an Alpha hold their pup for the first time.

"Oh, and before you ask, if you're still interested in my being your Omega, I'm still interested in you being one of my Alphas." Tony spoke quickly and quietly before he could lose his nerve. He was assuming Bruce was still interested and hadn't gotten cold feet during his time in hiding.

The look on Bruce's face, so happy, was magnificent. Tony made sure Jarvis recorded and printed the image for future use. He wasn't sure what he would do with it yet but it might involve a Christmas card…among other things.

 ***** Page Break *****

"When is the king due back from Wakanda?" Tony asked, trying for subtle and failing miserably by the looks the others shot him.

"T'Challa will be arriving in two days. One day less than the last time you asked me," Steve responded patiently as he rocked Aaron and Caleb to sleep. The rocking chair was one of several scattered around the room.

Tony sniffed, hiding his nerves behind bravado and fooling no one. "I was just asking. It's not every day you meet royalty."

"And the father of one of your pups created by a madman who wanted to make the perfect soldier," Clint piped up from where he was playing peekaboo with his squealing twins. He looked up at Tony, "How do you want to handle this?"

Tony sighed, "I've been trying to come up with some plan, but my genius brain seems to have abandoned me. Baby brain is a thing, right? Memory loss and all that?"

"I think that's for when you're carrying the baby," Natasha pointed out from the changing table. She was wrestling her mini-me's into diapers and pretty, little dress things she and Pepper had found online.

Tony waved a hand, "Whatever." He slumped in his own rocking chair, cuddling Matthew. He'd been in the Tower for a few days and finally relented to Steve's gentle – but entirely unsubtle – suggestion to contact T'Challa and finally have the face to face they needed. Tony would tell T'Challa about Matthew when he arrived, which would be all too soon.

Since hearing about T'Challa returning, Tony had been holding onto Matthew a lot more. Once the king found out about Matthew, there was bound to be some backlash. The others had all assured Tony that T'Challa was a reasonable man and would surely not blame Tony, but that was only half the battle.

Once they opened the circle of people who knew about the pups, they risked the media finding out. Someone would take a picture or do some digging and come up with the story of Tony Stark being the mother of a visiting royal's pup. He didn't want to think about the headlines the press would run. They liked rubbing his mistakes in his face and reminding him that nothing was ever really forgotten.

He hadn't made a public appearance yet, as far as the world knew he was still missing in action. But he couldn't hide forever. Eventually he would have to surface and lay himself bare for the vultures to pick apart.

"I know that face," Bruce rumbled, "That's your 'I'm picturing all the worst-case scenarios coming true and feeling miserable about it' face."

Tony smiled wryly at his fellow scientist. "You know me so well."

"Whatever happens, we're here for you." Bruce murmured, kissing Tony's cheek as he moved to calm down a fretting Mikaela. Bruce's twins didn't like to be apart from each other for long.

"Thank you, all of you," Tony met the eyes of each of his courting Alphas. They offered up gentle smiles. It was enough.

 _'_ _Sir, someone is requesting entry to the building'._

Tony startled at JARVIS's interruption, "Who is it?"

 _'_ _King T'Challa of Wakanda, Sir'._

Tony gulped, and his heart started racing. "Seriously?" He wasn't ready. T'Challa was early. He still had two days. He looked to his Alphas and found them all on alert, waiting to hear what he needed. He looked down at Matthew one last time then stood and placed the pup back in his crib. If his legs were shaking a little and he lingered above the dozing pup longer than necessary, no one commented.

"Let's go meet him then."

When Steve had requested T'Challa return to the Tower, Tony and the Alphas had decided on a battle plan. Of the group, Tony had to be the one to confront T'Challa, to tell him. But he wouldn't do it alone. Thor, Steve and Natasha would tag along for both physical and emotional support. The King never travelled without his guards and while a violent confrontation was unlikely, Tony would have back-up in case someone's trigger fingers got twitchy.

Someone also needed to stay with the pups and though they moaned about it, Clint and Bruce were the best options. Bruce wasn't good under pressure, what with the Hulk lingering in the background. And Clint was just childish enough to start shooting rubber arrows at people if they annoyed him. So, they would be guarding the pups while Tony informed the unsuspecting sire of his son, that he had been violated by a system meant to keep everyone safe.

 _That sounds worse every time I think about it_.

Tony quickly texted Pepper as they rode the elevator down to the communal floor, to have his lawyer on standby. It wouldn't be the first time an irate Alpha tried to steal their pup. Custody cases under strained circumstances rarely ended well.

The Wakandan delegation were already making themselves comfortable in the luxurious living space when Tony and his Alphas arrived. His first glimpse of the King confirmed his previous thoughts about the royal: T'Challa was hot.

"Captain Rogers," the dark-skinned man smiled and shook Steve's hand, "I am pleased to see you once again."

"Likewise, your highness," Steve's smile was a little more strained and Tony could almost feed the awkwardness building.

Then T'Challa turned to Tony and offered him a polite nod, "Mr Stark, it is nice to meet you. It appears rumours of your absence are greatly exaggerated."

"Nice to meet you too," Tony had to clear his throat before speaking and even then, it sounded high.

T'Challa turned back to Steve, "What was it you wanted to discuss with me? Something important, you said."

Steve coughed and nodded, glancing at Tony then at all the other exotic-looking people standing silently around the room. "Could we have some privacy, please? Just you?"

"I'm sorry, Captain," a tall woman, dark and fiercely beautiful, spoke from behind T'Challa, "My brother will not be allowed without his guards until we have ascertained why you requested his presence here."

Steve nodded, looking unsure for a moment before he rallied and then glanced at Tony once more, silently asking: how do you want to do this?

Tony sighed then stepped forward. He was aware of everyone in the room cataloguing his movements. Assessing him. He hadn't felt this vulnerable since he was trapped in a cave by terrorists.

"Have you ever met a man named General Thaddeus Ross?" Tony asked, just to see the man's reaction.

T'Challa frowned, "The man who started the Accords? The one who is on trial for a vast number of crimes?"

Tony nodded.

"I never had the displeasure. Why?"

"Because someone who worked for him met you, about a year ago, when you first made overtures about coming into the country with your father," Tony said. He was relieved that T'Challa seemed genuinely ignorant about the General, that the king hadn't donated willingly to the Alpha's plans.

T'Challa stiffened and Tony could feel all eyes boring into him. The tension ratcheted up as the Alpha rasped, "What are you saying?"

"When you entered the country, you were required to provide a blood sample for testing, to ensure you carried no illnesses. You and everyone else in your guard," Tony swept a hand around the room but kept his eyes on the Alpha before him, "When you did that, Ross took an interest and had someone acquire the sample."

T'Challa's face turned stony, "What did this man do with my blood?"

Now Tony wasn't sure what to say. Should he just blurt it out? Try and ease the man into it?

"He made a baby."

 _Okay, blurting it out like an idiot it is._

T'Challa hissed in a breath and mutters from the surrounding Wakandans started low like a swarm of bees. The woman standing behind T'Challa – his sister – was staring at Tony in a mixture of horror and aggression, her lips pulling back just enough to flash the tips of her canines.

"This man, this monster, created a child from my blood," T'Challa hissed, his chest heaving and angry Alpha pheromones beginning to clog the air.

Tony could only nod.

"Where is my child?" T'Challa demanded.

"He's here," Tony said, not giving away his inner turmoil.

"He?"

"A boy. He's an Omega. His name is Matthew."

T'Challa's eyes flickered, "You named him? You were the Omega?"

"I was not the one to carry him, but I am the Omega who unwillingly donated the egg."

T'Challa frowned, the air clearing a little. "Unwillingly?"

Tony gestured to his chest, "You might have heard about the arc reactor?" when he got a nod he continued, "When they took it out, Ross had someone harvest some of my eggs. One of the results, was Matthew."

"One?"

"Ten pups were born from my eggs and the DNA of several different Alphas."

Shock replaced some of the anger in the room, "Ten?"

Tony nodded, "They are all about three months old."

"My son is over three months old…" T'Challa seemed stunned, unable to finish the sentence. Tony watched the Alpha turn to his sister and bow his head, closer to hers. They spoke in hushed voices, using a dialect Tony was unfamiliar with.

Tony looked to Steve and saw the Alpha was tensed, probably wishing he had his shield. Natasha had that scary blank look on her face that dared anyone to come closer. Thor just crossed his massive arms over his mighty chest and glared. As intimidation went, it worked well.

"I wish to see my son," T'Challa brought Tony's attention back to the royal and he found an Alpha radiating all kinds of determination.

Tony nodded but couldn't smile yet, "Come with me."

 ***** Page Break *****

Tony led the Wakandans up to his floor and waited until they were all gathered in the living room, "I need you all to wait here while I go and get Matthew."

"I wish to see him now," T'Challa was the embodiment of royal privilege, expecting his wishes to be obeyed.

"You'll have to wait here since your guards won't leave your side," Tony said firmly.

"How do we trust you are going to bring my brother's child to us?" T'Challa's sister – whom Tony still didn't know the name of – stood alongside her brother and king as she addressed Tony with all the righteous aggression of a wronged Alpha.

Tony wanted to roll his eyes but figured it would be rude, "What, you think I'm going to climb out the window, maybe shimmy down the fire escape?" he gestured to the windows. They weren't floor to ceiling as on some other floors. Tony had decided years ago that he liked some sort of security in his private residence. "We're on the fifteenth floor, where do you think I'm going to go?"

"You pilot a suit capable of flight, you could easily abscond with the child," the beautiful, stubborn stranger accused.

Tony snorted, and this time couldn't fight the eye roll. Before he could lash out with his snarky tongue, Steve stepped in with an attempt to smooth things out.

"Let's just calm down," he held his hands up in a universal show of surrender, "There are nine other pups in that nursery, Tony doesn't want them disturbed by all of you trying to fit into a room already near filled to capacity. If T'Challa wants to see his son, it will be out here, where there is space."

A long tense moment stretched out before T'Challa inclined his head in regal acceptance and his sister settled into a slightly mulish frown but said nothing more. Tony left the room as quickly as he could without making it obvious. He breathed a sigh of relief as soon as he was in the nursery. The scent of his pups and his courting Alphas always made him smile. Some of his tension eased as he took in the familiar haven. The pups were all asleep either in their cribs or in the arms of their sires.

"Hey, how's it going out there?" Clint asked. He was rocking with his twins in his lap. Bruce was in a similar position with his own twins.

"Could be worse, the sister seems more paranoid than the king and I sense a possible confrontation in the future," Tony gently picked up Matthew, the baby still sound asleep, "Wish me luck."

Quiet murmurs followed him as he closed the door and made his way back to the Wakandans. He was glad the people waiting for him were quiet, but he didn't like the stressed and angry pheromones permeating the air from various people.

He pasted on a smile as all eyes turned to him and the bundle in his arms. His eyes sought T'Challa and found the Alpha staring intently, though not at Matthew. Instead he was already staring at Tony's face. Their eyes met, and Tony couldn't tell what the king was thinking.

"This is Matthew," Tony said quietly, "He's sleeping so I'll ask that you talk quietly."

T'Challa stepped forward until he was almost pressed up against Tony, the only thing separating them was Matthew.

Tony shifted the pup, so the Alpha could see Matthew's face. Tony watched T'Challa stare at Matthew in awe and some trepidation.

"May I hold him?" the request was whispered in a barely-there voice, but Tony heard and cautiously started handing the pup over to the Alpha. When Matthew was settled into T'Challa's embrace, Tony's arms felt strange. He crossed them carefully and watched the first exchange between pup and sire.

Matthew woke, no doubt surprised by the foreign scent and stared up at T'Challa with a wide-eyed look. He lifted a small cubby hand and patted Tchalla's chest, kicking his legs to demonstrate his new motor skills.

T'Challa murmured something in his native dialect and Matthew cooed. Tony's heart melted at the scene. It was clear the king was smitten with his pup.

Now the only questions remained pertained to custody.

 _That should be a fun conversation._

 ***** Page Break *****

T'Challa's sister was named Shuri. It was a pretty name for a beautiful woman. She seemed deeply suspicious of Tony. No one else on the team, just Tony. He wondered if it was because of his reputation or if she was biased against Omegas for some reason. Perhaps it was neither. Perhaps it was because of Matthew's origins. Whatever the case, she was still going to be a problem.

After Tony had introduced Matthew, he'd retreated to feed his pups. When he emerged again, he found Steve and T'Challa standing toe to toe while Natasha and Thor stood at the ready, blocking the other Wakandans from making their way to the nursery.

"We have a right to secure an heir to the throne of our country," Shuri claimed, "You will not keep us from him."

"He's my pup too," Tony snarled in return, letting some of his inner Omega show up for the argument. Omegas were not to be messed with when it concerned their pups. Only the bravest or stupidest of Alphas would dare try to get between an Omega and their pups.

"Yes, and you're such a paragon of virtue," Shuri sneered in such a venomous way that even T'Challa looked surprised.

"Don't believe everything you read, honey," Tony smirked when he saw her reaction to being called, 'honey'. "I'm not that person anymore, haven't been for years."

"All right everyone, let's just calm down," Steve, the voice of reason, spoke loud enough to be heard over the growls and grumbles of the posturing Alphas.

"Matthew is my son," T'Challa stated.

"Mine too," Tony retorted, "I'm sure I've mentioned that. He's been in my care since birth and he's done just fine. Need I remind you that I didn't have to even contact you about his parentage? I could have simply raised him as my son and claimed ignorance of the sire. I contacted you, despite knowing a custody battle might follow, because I felt you should know about your child."

T'Challa frowned and seemed to be in deep thought. Even his sister was quiet as the king came to some conclusion.

"I understand your position. We will leave for now, and I will be in touch soon regarding _our_ son." With that, T'Challa nodded to his people and left the room. Not one of them looked back.

"Wow, and I thought Tony was the dramatic one," Clint appeared from the nursery and shrugged when everyone looked at him, "All I'm saying is, between his parents, little Matthew is going to grow up to be a real drama queen."

"Shut up, Barton," Tony grumbled and flopped down on the couch. His Alphas surrounded him, and he found himself wrapped in a warm pile of arms and legs. He purred at the content smells coming from his Alphas and closed his eyes against the tension beginning to throb in his temples.

"Just relax, Tony," Bruce murmured as he began to massage Tony's scalp, "There's nothing more you can do for now so just rest."

Tony heaved a sigh then yawned. When someone touched his neck, he tilted his head with a soft hum. Someone, he suspected Steve, placed a kiss on his neck, right where a bond bite would go. He shivered at the contact and wasn't sure if he wanted more or less.

"You're safe, Tony, you're okay." The lips against his neck whispered between kisses. Definitely Steve.

"We've been so caught up in everything else we haven't really done anything with our intended bonding," Natasha commented from Tony's feet where she was rubbing in some lotion she'd dug from who-knew-where. Tony enjoyed the massages he was receiving and something in his hindbrain, that Omega instinct, was stirring. His Alphas were taking care of him, pampering him, and had demonstrated they were able caregivers and nurturers for their pups. Oh, yeah, his Omega was really paying attention now after being ignored for so long.

"You still wish to bond with us, right Anthony?" Thor's rumble came from somewhere in front of Tony and he guessed the large hands gently running over his siders belonged to the Asgardian.

 _What I wouldn't give to be without clothes right now_.

His body was tired but stirring with interest. His mind was whirling and in need of a break. Maybe some mind-numbing sex would be just the thing. And not just any ordinary sex. By the way all his Alphas were caressing him, they were suggesting an all-out orgy.

Bruce's hands slipped from Tony's hair and rubbed gently over his jaw and cheekbones. "I like you better without the goatee. Maybe that's what you need, a fresh look for a new chapter in your life."

Tony hummed. To be honest he'd almost forgotten about his signature facial hair. He didn't have time to style it now anyway, so a clean shave was best. Maybe it could stay gone like his fondness for expensive scotch.

"I'll stay clean faced if you promise to let me take you shopping for something that fits. And if Thor finally lets me dress him in leather, maybe Steve too," Tony yawned, eyes still closed.

Chuckles sounded around him then Steve kissed his neck again eliciting another shiver, "That's a deal, doll, but we might need some more convincing.

"Thought you said it was a deal." Tony peeked his eyes open and found them all staring back at him with heated gazes. Aroused Alpha pheromones began to permeate the air and Tony's own arousal began to perk up.

"Let's just say, we're going to sweeten the deal before we seal it."

 _I can so get on board with that_.

 ***** Page Break *****

Okay, so he should have called Pepper first. Or maybe Steve should have, paragon of virtue and truth that he was. But neither of them did and really, they had no one to blame but themselves when Pepper showed up that night with Rhodey in tow. While Tony and his Alphas were still sweaty and high on endorphins.

Pepper took one look at Tony and rolled her eyes, "Well, you're back."

"Hey, I've been celibate for months," Tony protested because it had been a long dry spell for him, "I have the will of a starving man."

"Starving man? And just who are you starving for?" Pepper eyed the sheepish and content looking Alphas lounging around the communal living room. The pups were asleep, and JARVIS was monitoring them all so Tony and the Alphas had headed down to enjoy a meal and movie without the lingering smells of their recently-renewed sex life.

"I don't kiss and tell, Pep, you know that," Tony cooed and winked at his former assistant. The redhead rolled her eyes again then stole a slice of pizza before plopping down next to Natasha. The two women had been close since Natasha strolled into their lives a few years ago. Tony suspected they would plot to take over the world one day, but he wasn't going to worry until he saw the first monument go up.

"So, I take it things went well with the King," Rhodey shoved his way in between Tony and Steve. He was a competitive Alpha and protective of Tony. He never let the others forget that Tony had backup whenever it was needed. Steve good-naturedly allowed the intrusion and leaned into Thor on his other side. The two blondes nuzzled and kissed, their growing Pride bonds driving them to be more affectionate with each other.

"Well enough. No bloodshed. Though that sister of his looked like she wanted to go for my throat, and not in a good way," Tony remarked, shifting to make himself comfortable and barely hiding a wince. He saw his Alphas smirk and shot them a dark look. They were the reasons he was so sore. They should feel bad. Smug assholes.

"Shuri? I met her a few times, she seemed nice. A little intense, maybe," Pepper frowned, "So what happened?"

Tony relayed the exchange to his friends and watched their faces for reactions. Rhodey looked apprehensive but not surprised. Pepper looked concerned. Basically, everything Tony and his Alphas were feeling and trying not to think about.

"Do you think he'll come back with a lawyer and try to sue for custody?" Pepper asked almost reluctantly.

"Maybe," Tony grunted, "I don't want to guess." He hoped his friends realised he didn't want to talk about it and drop the subject.

They did. Like the true besties they were. Rhodey grabbed some pizza and then asked Tony, "Should you be eating his? You _are_ a nursing mother."

Tony sniffed in disdain, "You sound like Steve and Bruce. A night of pizza won't kill me. I've had a tough day."

"Fine. But no takeout tomorrow. You need to eat healthier," Pepper scolded.

"You're gonna make a great mom," Tony cooed and was surprised when Pepper blushed, "Ooh, really?"

"What?" Everyone but Rhodey looked between Pepper and Tony, trying to figure out what was going on.

Tony kept his eyes fixed on Pepper who fidgeted under his gaze. Pepper never fidgeted. "Do I know them?"

"I would hope you know Happy," Pepper remarked primly, tossing her hair aside and revealing her bond bite. Tony squinted and picked up the coloured rings around the bite that indicated more than one mate. When Tony bonded, he would have five. By the looks of it, Pepper had two.

"And the other?"

Pepper's blush deepened, and she flipped her hair around to cover her neck again, "You never met her, our Omega is Cassandra Swan. She's the interior decorator I called in to fix this place up when the aliens came to town. We just…clicked."

"Just clicked."

"Shut up, Tony."

Tony faked a pout, "I go away for a few months and you get bonded."

"Much as I hate to say it, it was spur of the moment a few weeks ago. Her heat aligned with our ruts and we were all so distracted with everything going on…" Pepper sighed, "I don't regret it. We've opted to not have a public ceremony as none of us really want one and it's hardly the time for that sort of thing. We're bound in the eyes of the Cosmos, that's what counts."

"How very new age of you."

"Shut up, Tony."

Tony blinked as one fact caught in his mind, "Is she pregnant?"

Pepper shrugged, "We weren't on anything so probably."

"Pepper's really going to be a mommy. Or are you going to go by daddy?" Tony grinned when Pepper scowled at him.

"How about you, Tony? Are you mommy or daddy?" Rhodey asked.

Without missing a beat, Tony said, "I'm gonna be mom to my pups," then he gestured to his Alphas, "It's them who has to figure out what the kids will call them. There's only so many variations for the word daddy."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

It took three days for T'Challa to return. He came back with a lawyer and his sister. The guards were in the background and stayed there when Tony arrived at the prearranged meeting place with his own lawyer, Carl Jefferson. Pepper, Steve and Natasha tagged along as support because none of them thought T'Challa would be without witnesses. Thor, Bruce and Clint were on babysitting duty with JARVIS delivering constant updates via Tony's phone every half hour.

They met on an office floor of the Tower, rarely used except by a few key personnel and business meetings such as these. Tony sat opposite T'Challa with their lawyers and support on either side of them.

"How shall we begin?" Tony asked when they were all seated. He wasn't sure he liked the look of T'Challa's lawyer. The man appeared American, older and cold-eyed. Smarmy and arrogant. One of those old-school Alphas who thought Omegas belonged in the home and not out in public. He and Ross probably would have gotten along great and that set Tony's teeth on edge.

"My client is requesting you hand over full custody of the child known as Matthew Stark. In exchange he is willing to pay a substantial sum of money," Simmonds began coolly. No pretence or posturing, just straight to the jugular. He scribbled a number on a piece of paper then shoved it in front of Tony who passed it to Jefferson without looking at it.

Tony had expected it when he saw the stony faces of his opponents, but he was disappointed that his child's sire could be so cold to him. He closed his eyes for a moment to gather himself.

"No chance in hell," he stated firmly, no give. He stared straight into T'Challa's eyes and was rewarded when the Alpha averted his gaze.

"Then we will go through the courts and let a judge decide who will be the better parent, Mr Stark," the lawyer remarked, "Given your reputation I don't hold much hope that you will win and then you will forfeit the offer of monetary gain. You will lose your son and get nothing in return. When you lose, you will also sign a contract preventing you from seeking further contact with the child."

"What century are you from?" Tony snapped. His lawyer and Pepper both hushed him gently, so he sat back and fumed silently. He felt Steve's eyes on him, but he refused to back down from staring at T'Challa.

"I think you'll find that in most cases, the law sides with the Omega, unless there is proven cases of abuse or mistreatment," Jefferson declared calmly. He was the pinnacle of professionalism and never let his true feelings effect a case. It was something Tony had admired about the man and he often thanked Pepper for finding the Alpha and luring him into being Tony's counsel.

"Being born an experiment for a mad Alpha currently held on charges of misconduct and treason is not a sufficient case of mistreatment?" the lawyer smirked. Tony was going to get the bastard's name and smear it all over the country.

"My client was not directly involved in the creation of the child," Jefferson reminded them, "But he was the cause for Matthews current existence. Without Mr Stark, Matthew would have been…disposed of, per General Ross' request."

T'Challa and Shuri jolted, both staring wide-eyed at Tony as if they had never heard this before. They probably hadn't, Tony realised. He hadn't told them the full story as to how he had gotten the ten pups to safety.

"We only have the word of your client that such events took place," the bastard lawyer declared. "Do you have any proof?"

"We do," Jefferson pulled a folder from his briefcase and passed it to T'Challa rather than the other lawyer. T'Challa flipped it open and started reading, Shuri beside him. Tony wasn't sure what was in the folder, but it couldn't be good with the expressions on the Wakandans faces. He glanced at Pepper who avoided his eyes. She knew what was in those pages.

Minutes passed as T'Challa read the file and his lawyer looked impatient. Tony derived no small amount of pleasure from noticing that neither of the Wakandans were showing the lawyer what was in the file. Finally, the king snapped the folder closer and shoved it away from him, rubbing his mouth with a trembling hand. He looked shaken, almost grief-stricken.

"I am sorry," T'Challa's voice sounded rough as he raised his eyes to meet Tony's, "All I can say for your suffering is that I am sorry for adding to it. I made a mistake with this course of action. If you are amenable, I would still like to discuss seeing Matthew on a probationary basis."

Tony was surprised at the sudden turn of events. He eyed the folder, wondering what evil was hidden in it, then tugged it back to his side of the table because the bastard lawyer was eyeing it as well. If Jefferson had wanted the man to see it, he would have handed it to him.

"I am happy to let you be a part of Matthew's life, as much as you are comfortable with," Tony stated formally, "Are you dropping the lawsuit to retain full custody of Matthew?"

"I am," T'Challa ignored his lawyer's low protests. No longer smug, now the bastard looked like he was sucking on a lemon.

"Good, let's let the lawyers get that in writing," Tony stood when Jefferson nodded. He offered T'Challa a smile, "Would you like to see him?"

T'Challa nodded eagerly and followed as Tony left with his Alphas. Pepper, Shuri and the lawyers remained behind to sort out paperwork.

 _That was quick. I got all dressed up for this?_

He was almost giddy with relief that it was over. He knew it was temporary. There were still other issues to resolve and later on, when Matthew was older, there would probably be visits to Wakanda so that the boy could learn about his heritage. But that was far in the future. For now, the little prince was probably hungry, and Tony was loath to keep any of his pups waiting.

 ***** Page Break *****

It was strange having another Alpha in the Tower. Tony was used to his five teammates. He wasn't accustomed to a genuine royal lounging around in the kitchen. The man could cook as good as Steve. The pair often wound up in a standoff over the different utensils. Tony had walked in on more than one pre-brawl snarling match and he was beyond sick of it.

"You two have seriously got to get over this," Tony groaned after coming down from nursing the pups to sleep. Steve and T'Challa were at it again, standing toe to toe, lips pulled back revealing sharp teeth, Alpha pheromones clotting the air. They deflated when Tony spoke and seemed to shrink as he continued, "You've driven Bruce away to the labs and Clint into the vents. Even Thor has locked himself away from the awkward that is the two of you at mealtimes."

He shot the two sheepish looking Alphas a scathing look, "You're grown men, you can act like it. Talk it out, work out a schedule, alternate days, I don't care. But you're both living here so figure it out."

With that he whirled and stormed away. His stomach grumbled, reminding him of why he had ventured from his private floor to seek nourishment in the communal area. His fridge was empty, and his pantry was less than adequate in options.

He stomped off the elevator and found Natasha curled up where he'd left her on the couch. She frowned at him, "Why are you back so soon and without food?"

"Steve and T'Challa are at it again," Tony whined as he flopped down face first on the sofa, "I kind of blew up at them and stormed out."

"Well, I'm sure they needed to hear it. But you need food because the pups won't start weaning for another two months or more."

Just hearing it made Tony whine again. His chest ached with how much milk he was storing and producing at any given time. His shirts often had to be changed throughout the day due to leakage. He was eternally grateful to the lady Pepper hired to do the laundry. He should probably give her a raise.

"Come on, up you get," Natasha coaxed Tony back to his feet and herded him back to the elevator. Riding back down, he leant on her shoulder with his eyes closed and wished food could come to him.

Natasha led the way into the surprisingly quiet kitchen and stood with her hands on her hips giving the much bigger Alphas the stink eye. They flinched and moved unconsciously away from her.

 _She's so scary without even trying. I wonder if our girls will have that same skill._

"You two are driving everyone mad with your bickering," she hissed, "No one wants to come near here while you're preparing or serving food anymore because the stench of dominant Alpha pheromones makes everyone lose their appetite. Tony can't afford to lose weight. He has ten pups to feed and to do that he needs to eat. If he doesn't eat, neither do the pups. Now, are we going to start behaving?"

Two meek nods.

"Good. So, what's ready now? Tony and I are hungry," she sat primly on a bar stool and held out her arm to Tony, wanting him to join her. He hurried over and perched on the stool next to her.

T'Challa and Steve fell over themselves to offer Tony and Natasha the various meals they'd concocted throughout the day in competition with each other. Tony would have been more amused if he wasn't so hungry. He dug in to the first thing put in front of him and didn't stop until the plate was clean. He sighed with contentment as his belly filled then offered the hovering Alphas a sleepy smile. He held his hands up to Steve, "Take me to bed?"

Steve scooped him up and strode from the room. Natasha lingered with T'Challa, but Tony was in too deep of a carb coma to think about it.

In his room he regarded the bed with sleepy amusement. Not for the first time he found the sheer size of the sleeping surface incredible. It was specially made to accommodate a large Pride. It took up a ridiculous amount of space and the number of pillows and blankets on the surface was almost unseemly.

He loved that bed.

But he got so lonely on his own. As per the courting protocols, the Alphas would spend time in the bed when the Omega allowed but at least one night a week had to be spent alone. It was an old conditioning method used to drive the bonds closer. Tony didn't care enough to know the logic behind that method. Tonight, Thor and Clint were already snuggled in bed, Tony was deposited between them with a pleased purr.

"I'll go get Bruce and Natasha then we'll be back, okay?" Steve waited until Tony nodded before leaving.

It was good to have a family.

 ***** Page Break *****

"Who taught you how to cook?" Tony asked T'Challa over breakfast the next morning. So far, no squabbles had erupted between the Alphas over the rights to the kitchen. Steve had taken a seat with Tony rather than trying to boss the other Alpha away from the food. Tony still caught the blond giving T'Challa a bit of a side-eye glance, but for now he was holding back on his temper for which everyone was grateful. Bruce had sidled into the kitchen warily as T'Challa started dishing out food. He took his plate and relaxed into his usual place at the table rather than retreating to the lab. The aggression from the other two Alphas had been getting on Bruce's nerves, agitating the Hulk as well. It was safe to assume this truce was a welcome relief for everyone.

"My father demanded that I learn certain skills as I grew so that I could understand how my people lived. Shuri and I both learnt from a hired chef to prepare basic meals. Shuri did not care for it but I found it oddly relaxing and therapeutic, so I took my cooking and baking classes further than expected," T'Challa beamed as he served himself then moved to take the empty seat at the table.

Tony hummed, "Your father was much more practical than mine was. Howard liked to rub his privilege and money in people's faces and to have his son know how to perform basic chores was too much like lowering his own social standing."

"Your relationship with your father sounds like a troubled one," T'Challa noted quietly, speaking without inflection. Asking but not demanding. If Tony changed the subject or didn't answer, he wouldn't push. But for some reason, Tony found himself wanting to share this part of himself with the royal. All the other Alphas knew this about him, and T'Challa was going to be a part of his life no matter what for years to come. It made sense to get to know each other.

"It was. He wanted a prodigy, but not someone smarter than him. He wanted an Alpha son. He demanded excellence, but nothing was every good enough. He…basically wanted Captain America and anything else was considered unworthy of his time. Frankly, I'm surprised he was with my mother long enough to create me," Tony fiddled with his glass as he spoke. No matter how many times he went over this it wasn't easy. It was messy and painful and confusing.

Steve made a noise and Tony looked up to see the Alpha frowning down at his pancakes instead of wolfing them down like usual. Tony reached over and touched his hand. When Steve looked at him, he smiled reassuringly, getting a tentative smile in return.

"It's not your fault. It had nothing to do with you and everything to do with my sire's obsession with regaining the 'pinnacle of human perfection'", Tony soothed. "In all those years searching for you, he never once called you Steve Rogers, it was always Captain America. To be honest I'm not sure he remembered your name after a few years. He drank too much, so his memory was pretty much shot to hell by the end."

Steve nodded, he'd heard all this before, and his smile eased a bit. He'd once told Tony he felt guilty for being the cause of Tony's childhood unhappiness. But Tony had set him straight firmly and without compromise. The fault lay with Howard, not Steve, never Steve, and not once did Tony blame him for the way Howard's obsession had warped their relationship.

Steve just needed reassuring sometimes.

Tony turned back to T'Challa who was watching the exchange with no small amount of curiosity but with the grace of one who knows they shouldn't interrupt.

"I was sorry to hear about your father passing," Tony said quietly. He felt a shift in the air and belatedly realised what kind of minefield he'd wandered into. The news several months ago had accused the Winder Soldier of assassinating T'Chaka, the former king of Wakanda.

The Winter Soldier was Bucky Barnes. Barnes was Steve's bestie from long ago, and also the father of one of Tony's pups. T'Challa didn't know that yet, but it would eventually come out. Would that damage whatever relationship they had? Would it affect Caleb's relationship with Matthew later when they were old enough to understand about their sires?

T'Challa nodded, looking stiff and closed off. "Thank you. I miss him a great deal. He was a good king, a good father."

"I wasn't able to follow much of the news while I was in hiding," Tony said cautiously, "I'd like to hear about it from you, if that's okay."

T'Challa frowned, staring down at his food. "My father was assassinated while preparing for a meeting about the Accords. He was strongly against them. That could be why he was… Or it could be the fault of any old enemy biding their time. My father did not leave Wakanda often, certainly not in recent years. Someone might have held a grudge and waited for their chance."

"So, they don't know who did it?" Tony was too startled to censure himself. He heard Steve hiss in a breath and winced, "I'm sorry…"

"No, it's alright." T'Challa reached over and touched Tony's hand, offering comfort, "I don't yet know who was responsible, but I will find out one day."

Tony wanted to ask about the Winder Soldier but figured he'd dug deep enough into that pit, he didn't need to bury himself. He shovelled in the rest of his breakfast then retreated upstairs, leaving the Alphas at the table.

He exhaled heavily as he rode the elevator, "Well, that was awkward."

 _'_ _If I may Sir, talking to yourself is not a healthy method for dealing with stress'._

"I'm talking to you, J," Tony remarked.

 _'_ _Of course, Sir'._

"Sassy robot," Tony mumbled as he reached his floor. The pups were still sleeping. They were getting better at longer stretches of sleep during the night and less napping during the day. It was both good and bad. Good because he might score a restful sleep. And bad, because the ten little hellions were balls of energy during the day and keeping up with them all was going to drive him round the bend.

Instead of staring at his pups as he had done so often when he was at the cabin, Tony flopped on the couch and turned on the TV. There had to be something interesting on.

 _Spongebob…some soap drama thing…a scifi show…a documentary about fish…baking show…another baking show…more drama…cartoon dogs…_

In the end he found something, but it was not the kind of thing he ever wanted to see.

 _Breaking News: Tony Stark Has Returned!_

A grinning Omega woman, all pretty and soft except for the unholy glee in her eyes, was delivering her report from outside the Avengers Tower. In the background were several other film crews, each reporting the same thing: Tony was back in the city.

His heart sank as he made his way to the window and looked down. In the early morning, he could clearly see the mob of people and vans lined up outside his home. Traffic was being diverted around the mass of people by police. Tony whimpered at the sheer number of clamouring reporters, thirsty for his blood.

"Oh, God, Goddess and the Cosmos," Tony moaned. He tore his gaze from the throng of people when he heard his phone ring.

He checked the number and was relieved to see Pepper's number.

"Pepper?"

"Tony, thank God. Don't go outside. Someone's leaked your whereabouts to the press."

"I know. It's on every channel. I can see them outside."

"What do you want to do?"

"Honestly? Hide under a rock and wait for them to go away."

Pepper's sigh was proof enough that that plan wouldn't work.

Despite all his time alone, he hadn't planned how he was going to reveal himself to the public yet. There were bound to be angry people, enhanced people and regular civilians, who wanted to blame him for the Accords and the mess that led to the Avengers temporary exile. There would be those who just wanted vindication for their spin on things. Who would twist everything he said or did to suit their own agender.

He was not going to come out of this unscathed.

"Press conference?" he asked. When Pepper agreed he added, "Not in the Tower. I don't want any of them to breach the perimeter for any reason."

"I'll work something out," Pepper assured him, "We'll get through this."

Tony's breath shuddered out on a sigh, "Is it wrong that I want to move to Malibu and hide there forever?"

"Not wrong, but pointless. You gave your address to the world remember, they know where your house is. Now that it's rebuilt, there are people always checking on it, hoping for a glimpse of someone at the residence."

Tony pouted, "Not my smartest idea?"

"No, not really."

"Maybe it's time to move."

"Maybe it is. You'll certainly need a more child-friendly home when the pups reach walking age. But for now, running away won't solve anything. I'll organise a press conference and call you back with the details. You find your Alphas and try to stay calm."

 _Stay calm, she says. Has that ever worked on anyone?_

He made his way back downstairs where his Alphas were all still working their way through breakfast. They must have seen something on his face or sensed it through their pre-bond because they looked up at the same time, even T'Challa, and watched him approach.

"What's wrong?" Clint asked, serious for once. Thor pulled Tony into his lap as the others edged their chairs closer.

"JARVIS," Tony didn't have to say anymore. The TV in the kitchen came to life and all Tony could hear was the gleeful speculations about where Tony had been, how long he had been in the Tower and what his reasons were for going into hiding.

"How did this happen?" Steve growled.

 ***** Page Break *****

Pepper arrived like an avenging angel, forcing her way through the horde of people outside the Tower. Her mate, Happy used his bulk to keep people from toppling over the redhead and another woman. Tony watched as the crowd parted like the Red Sea to allow the infamous Ms Potts into the building.

"Who's the other woman?" Clint asked from where he was perched on the back of the sofa. They were all crowded onto Tony's personal floor watching the news in morbid fascination. Tony wanted to stay close to his pups, he felt vulnerable and hated it. But his pups were defenceless, so their safety was his priority. Just imagining all the ways a reporter had tried to get a shot of Tony doing _anything_ over the years, the lengths they would go to in order to get that perfect photo, made him shiver.

"I think that might be Pepper's Omega mate," Steve responded. "What did Pepper say her name was again?"

"Cassandra Swan." A new feminine voice, soft and husky, spoke from the doorway. Tony turned from where he had snuggled into the heated mass that was Thor. Pepper led the way into the room followed by the small brunette woman and then Happy.

"Nice to meet you," Tony murmured with what he was sure was a very lacklustre smile, "Normally I'd be charming or something, but I hope you'll understand I simply don't have the energy to be my usual brilliant self."

Cassandra had soft hazel eyes. There was something about her that screamed maternal. She had that natural Omega caring and nurturing attitude that Tony had always been encouraged to avoid. He wondered sometimes how he would have turned out if he'd been allowed to mature as he should, embracing his genuine instincts and not fabricating Alpha-like ones. He wouldn't be Tony without his smart-ass attitude though so thinking about it sometimes gave him hives.

"I understand, Mr. Stark," she said, "Pepper's told me how close you two are. I'm sure we'll get to know each other a lot in coming years and you'll dazzle me with your brilliance another time."

"First, call me Tony. Mr. Stark reminds me of my father and when your gorgeously devious mate used to work for me," Tony straightened up a little to regard all three of the new mates, "Second, I like her, so you two had better be good or I'll keep her for myself."

Cassandra blushed while Pepper rolled her eyes, "Ignore him, Cas. He thinks he's charming."

Tony clutched his chest in mock affront, "How could you Pepper? My beloved redhaired apprentice has surpassed me in wit. What am I to do?"

"Yes, you corrupted me," Pepper remarked dryly, "I was a perfectly calm and rational person before I applied to be your assistant and now I'm in phase two of taking over the world. I'd tell you about phase three but then I'd have to kill you. Now shall we move on to business?"

Tony moaned dramatically but everyone ignored him. _Traitors._

"Did you find out who leaked Tony's whereabouts to the press?" Steve asked. The mood in the room dipped back down to sombre.

"A man named George Simmonds," Pepper stated, holding out a photo, "I believe most of you will recognise him."

Tony hissed and fought the urge to grab the photo and rip it into little piece before blowing it to hell with his gauntlet. That smug, righteous face was grinning back at him again. The last time he'd seen it was when the bastard had been urging T'Challa to claim full custody of Matthew.

He should have smeared the man's name quicker.

"My lawyer did this?" T'Challa looked horrified.

"I'm afraid so. He accepted a generous amount of money in exchange for his information. He tried to hide his tracks, but nothing beats JARVIS," Pepper focused on T'Challa with the kind of intensity a cat gives its prey. Tony shivered in sympathy for the other man, "How did you come to know Mr Simmonds in the first place?"

"He was recommended by the firm my father habitually used when he had business in the States," T'Challa murmured, "I did not like him, but I ignored my better judgement. I am sorry, Tony, for bringing this to your door."

Tony sighed, "It's hardly the first time someone got greedy and gave away my secrets. There's a reason I went through a parade of assistants before Pepper. And it's not because I slept with them as many believe. It's because they all allowed themselves to be bribed into giving the press information about me."

Pepper inclined her head in agreement, "I went through vigorous background tests and interviews. My family, friends, former co-workers, even my partners, past and present, were interviewed. I was pissed at the time, insulted by Tony's high-handed actions. But I quickly came to understand."

"You were Heaven-sent, my dear," Tony murmured, "But not everyone has your ethics."

"Sadly, Mr Simmonds is one such rat," Pepper glared at the photo still in her hand before shoving it back into the folder she'd pulled it from, "How do you want to handle this?"

"I'm going to smear his name from here to Hell and back," Tony replied calmly, aware of his Alphas watching him sharply, "I'm going to make sure he never works in law again. Someone that bigoted and greedy shouldn't be let out of their cage, let alone around other people."

"Isn't that a little harsh?" Steve asked quietly. He held his hands up in surrender when Tony glared at him, "I mean, it's done now. How will destroying his life fix anything?"

"If he can give my name to the press, if he can be bribed once, then what's to stop him doing it again?" Tony asked, cool and calm, "What if it's a woman hiding from her abusive ex next time? Or a victim avoiding their stalker?"

Steve still didn't look happy but nodded his head. Tony regarded him for several moments and knew it would take more to convince the Alpha of how serious their situation was.

"When I was six, a temporary teacher at my school, told the press where I was," Tony murmured, eyes fixed on his blond Alpha, "They stormed the school, terrifying teachers and students in their quest to get the first shot of Tony Stark in school uniform. Until then, no one knew where I was because Howard might have been an ass, but he knew how to protect his interests. When they found me, they crowded around me so much I started crying. I was terrified of all the flashing lights and the people yelling at me. It got so bad, they started pushing each other to get the money shot. Inevitably, they pushed me. I fell and cut my lip. They got photos of me in my school uniform alright. Bloody, tear-stained and ripped. Howard was furious. He made it all go away. Sued them all and destroyed every piece of evidence it ever happened. Then he went after the teacher who told and ruined her chances of ever teaching again. He moved me to a new school and told me to forget about it. But I never forgot, and I never will."

Steve's face had paled. Tony was sure he wasn't the only one, but his eyes stayed fixed on those baby-blues. "When our pups go to school, they'll face the same treatment. Maybe even worse because there are ten of them. All from different sires. We are all in the media spotlight, so our kids are going to grow up in that circus as well. We won't be able to protect them from everything, and this is sadly one of those times because the press knows I'm here and they'll know as soon as they see me that I'm a nursing mother. Our pups are going to be part of the six o'clock news by tomorrow. Because one man couldn't keep his mouth shut."

Steve was quiet and Tony was exhausted. The silence deepened. Tony watched as Steve slowly nodded then met Tony's eyes with something like ferocity and determination swimming in their depths. "How do we make him pay?"

Tony gave a tired smirk, "That's my Capsicle. Come to the dark side."

Steve rolled his eyes and reached over to ruffle Tony's hair. He allowed the contact and purred when those strong fingers rubbed his scalp.

"Sorry to interrupt, Tony, but I scheduled your press conference in two hours," Pepper spoke up, breaking the moment, "You'll need to get dressed and cleaned up."

Tony groaned but climbed to his feet. "Fine. Gotta go make myself all pretty." He looked to his Alphas, "Anyone wanna join me?"

Clint bounded to his feet first and ushered Tony away to the sound of Pepper protesting. "Half an hour Tony. Any more and I'm telling JARVIS to turn off the hot water."

"You're no fun," Tony shot over his shoulder. He didn't hear Pepper's response because Clint shut the door and started devouring his mouth as they left a trail of clothing on their way to the bathroom.

 ***** Page Break *****

Dressed in a suit specially designed for nursing male Omegas – even if it was a top-of-the-line brand – was a clear giveaway of his new circumstances. Tony felt self-conscious in the unfamiliar material. He also wondered if he was ready. Because his press smile looked more like a grimace when he practiced in the mirror. He _knew_ he looked better than that. Maybe it would be different when he was in front of them?

Steve and Thor were big, blond bodyguards on either side of him as they drove to the place where Pepper had set up the press conference. To be honest, Tony couldn't remember it and his head was too fuzzy to recognise where they were going.

"It's okay, calm down," Steve murmured, "Once you get there, you read what you and Pepper worked out and then you leave. You don't have to answer any questions today. And let's face it, no one's going to rush you when you're standing between Captain America and a Norse God."

"Technically, I am not a Norse God," Thor pointed out mildly, "I am an Asgardian, an alien from outer space by this planet's reasoning. However, I do believe they will think twice before approaching the mighty God of Thunder and Lightning."

"Especially when you cross your arms," Steve noted, "You've got massive biceps. Flaunt them."

"As you wish." Thor crossed his arms as instructed and Tony couldn't help but chuckle. He really did have impressive arms.

"My heroes," Tony cooed.

"Forever and always, baby," Steve drawled, sending him a sultry look.

Tony fanned himself, "Don't make me blush, boys. I've got to go in front of a bunch of people whose job it is to pick apart little details. I don't want them to come up with the story that Tony Stark got frisky in the backseat with Captain America. They don't even know we're courting yet, do they?"

Steve was silent for a long moment, a contemplative frown on his face, "I don't think so. Before all this happened, we were preparing some big party, so you could announce to the world we were going to be mated. Was that really only four months ago?"

Tony hissed in a breath. Four months? That sounded right but so wrong as well. Had all of this happened in only four months?

"A lot has happened," Thor rumbled sagely, "But we are together again now. Best not to borrow trouble."

 _He's clearly more than just a pretty blonde._

"We're here." Steve nudged Tony who peered out the window at the back entrance to some building he should probably know the name of. At his questioning look Steve continued, "It's a ballroom type place Pepper rented for the afternoon for this press conference. The doors shut a minute ago, so no more reporters can get in and they won't be allowed to leave until we're gone. Are you ready?"

"Does it matter?" Tony gulped then gestured for Steve to get moving. Steve climbed out first then helped Tony from the vehicle. Thor swiftly rounded the car and walked behind Tony like a giant shadow. A big, warm, over-protective shadow.

Inside the air was cool and crisp but Tony still felt like sweating. He tugged on his tie. He'd gotten used to going without tight collars. It was so much easier when he had to lift his shirt to nurse every few hours anyway.

"Showtime," Steve murmured as they waited behind a door for the signal to enter the room. A woman Tony didn't know pulled it open and nodded to them then stood to the side, taking up a typical bodyguard pose.

Tony strolled onto the stage and as soon as he did he felt his old skin fall back into place. With relief he smiled at the flashing cameras and murmuring people. He waved once then took the podium, Steve and Thor either side of him like in the car.

He waited until the men and women in the room had settled down. They took their seats, microphones reaching for him and cameras zooming into his face. He looked down at his speech and started reading. He knew it well, had read it repeatedly despite only having an hour to prepare. He was a genius, he could fake it if nothing else.

"I suppose the first order of business is to address the issue of the Accords. At the time of my signature, the Accords were in their infant stage and being run by General Thaddeus Ross. I did not agree with the Accords, especially under the command of a person such as General Ross. I wholeheartedly apologise for any suffering my signature on such a document might have caused members of the community and hope that one day you can forgive me."

Tony looked up and gestured to his chest. He knew several people had noticed it already and their hungry eyes were pinned to him with the intensity of a shark scenting blood in the water.

"You've no doubt seen that my usual attire has been replaced by a brand that specialises in Omegas who are nursing." He paused when the murmurs started up then continued, "You would be right in assuming that I am a nursing Omega."

The noise spiked, and several people surged closer before settling. Tony continued after a long moment. "During the operation to remove my arc reactor a year ago, some of my eggs were illegally harvested on the orders of General Ross. He fertilised said eggs and created pups, which he used to blackmail me into signing the Accords."

Voices started shouting before they were hushed by security. Tony paid them no attention and continued talking, trying to get it over with. "My pups and I are now home and safe from General Ross. I ask that you give me this time as a new mother and afford me the privacy everyone deserves. I will not answer any questions today. Thank you for your time."

Shouts erupted behind him as Tony turned and strode back to the door he had come through. Steve and Thor falling into position as they retraced their path. when Tony was in the car, again sandwiched between two blondes, he looked down and realised he still held the speech cards in his hand. He let the crumpled pieces of paper fall to the floor and closed his eyes.

 ***** Page Break *****

"…Oh, my God! Tony Stark is a mom!"

"…Poor kids. How many did he have? Did he say? No? Well, I feel sorry for them, growing up with an Omega like Stark."

"…What a monster! Ross should be put to death. He _stole an Omega's eggs_! Does anyone else see what's wrong with that? If he could do it to Stark of all people, what's to stop him from doing to anyone? Nothing! That's what!"

"…How sure are we that Stark is telling the truth?"

"Well he was certainly wearing clothing designed for a nursing Omega. Also, not to be crass, but he has bigger breasts than me!"

"So, let's assume he's really a mother now-"

"He might like to be preferred to as father, did he say which during the interview?"

"Actually, he used the term mother."

"All right, so he's a mother."

"Right. So, assuming he's a mother, who's the father?"

"Or fathers. Remember Omegas can carry the offspring of several Alphas at once. And these eggs were supposedly incubated in an alternate environment. Stark said pups, plural, so we can assume there's at least two. That could mean two fathers."

"Any speculation on who?"

"If Stark had gone through the pregnancy himself, I would assume another one of the Avengers to be the sire. However, as I said, these eggs were grown outside the mother. They could be fertilised by anyone."

"…There's no way Stark's a mother. He's too self-absorbed. This is just a publicity stunt to gain sympathy."

"…How many pups do you think Stark has?"

"That's impossible to guess since he didn't carry them. It could be anywhere from two, to the record which is fourteen I believe. Actually, we can probably assume the number is likely on the higher side of the scale."

"Why is that?"

"Because Stark didn't carry them. His body was not bound by limitations. Also, I sincerely doubt that only two eggs were harvested. If Stark's eggs were indeed stolen, a large number makes more sense. We might be looking at a new record."

"…How long has Stark been back?"

"…What does this mean for the trial of disgraced former General, Thaddeus Ross?"

"…How are the Avengers dealing with pups in the Tower?"

"…Could one or more of the Avengers be the sire?"

"…I think it's all fake. Stark got himself knocked up and went into hiding to have his brats. Now he's back and seeking stardom again. He's probably dumped the kids with a nanny and partying it up in some sleazy bar right now. I bet the Avengers kick him and his spawn out by the end of the week."

 ***** Page Break *****

"Do you ever get the feeling the world hates you?" Tony asked whoever walked into the room. He didn't bother looking up from where he was sprawled across the couch. On the TV, a montage of news reports played repeatedly, all speculating about Tony's announcement the day before.

"Not really," the voice was feminine but unfamiliar. Tony snapped his head up and found Shuri lounging in the doorway frowning at the TV, "You should turn that off. It's all rubbish anyway."

Tony turned the TV off without really thinking, still watching Shuri. The tall woman hadn't been around since T'Challa gave up on the attempt to claim Matthew. Tony assumed she'd left in a huff until she could reform her defences.

"What are you doing here? T'Challa's downstairs," Tony stood and warily placed himself between the woman and his pups.

Shuri regarded his movements with something that looked like regret before she masked it. She was quite the consummate actress, like her brother. "I came to see you actually, Mr. Stark. To apologise."

Tony blinked slowly but said nothing. Their first interaction had not gone well, neither had their second. He wasn't sure if he could trust the Alpha female.

"I am sorry for how I treated you when we first arrived. You are right, you could have simply hidden the truth from my brother, claimed ignorance of Matthew's parentage, and even as the child grew older, no one would assume T'Challa as the sire." Shuri took a deep breath, "I apologise for judging you before we met and making assumptions I had no right to make. I hope you can forgive me." She gave a sort of bow and turned to leave.

"You could start by calling me Tony," when Shuri paused and turned to face him, Tony shrugged, "All my friends call me Tony. We're practically related through Matthew, you might as well call me by my first name."

"Very well, Tony," Shuri smiled a little before she turned and left Tony alone.

Feeling restless, Tony ventured into the nursery where his pups were slumbering. They wouldn't be for long. They would soon wake up and demand food. As they neared the six-month mark, they would alternate between being very hungry or having barely any hunger at all, as their bellies adjusted to the need for different nourishment. Pups needed Omega milk exclusively for the first six months of their life, then they would wean themselves and start tasting other foods. Some pups weaned right away, others took some encouraging.

"I don't know if it's a good thing you'll soon be eating food or not," Tony murmured to his pups, "With food comes teeth, meaning teething. And mess, lots of mess as you little trouble makers figure out which sloppy food group has the best velocity."

As if agreeing with him, Alexis and Vanessa stirred and began reaching for him in their sleep. With a sigh, Tony started to get to work feeding his little darlings.

As if called by a silent alarm, or JARVIS, the Alphas started filing in to help with the pups. They were fed, changed and then settled onto the playmats for some fun.

As soon as the pups were busy with their entertainers, Steve sidled up to Tony and whispered, "T'Challa wants to talk to you about something."

Tony glanced at the Alpha hovering by the door. "What is it?"

"He wants to tell you himself."

Tony shrugged and slipped out of the room, following T'Challa to the kitchen where the Alpha started rummaging around in the fridge. He pulled out a chocolate chip cheesecake and Tony's mouth watered.

"Did you make that?" he asked as T'Challa placed a slice on a plate and then slid it to Tony with a spoon.

"Yes, I made it this morning," the Alpha sounded distracted, perhaps even nervous.

"What did you want to talk to me about?" Tony spooned a mouthful of yummy goodness into his mouth and moaned. He ignored T'Challa's smirk and helped himself to another taste.

"I wanted to ask if you would consider allowing me to court you."

Tony almost choked on the cheesecake. His eyes flew to the serious face of the Alpha before him. "Y-you want to court me?"

"Yes."

Tony swallowed and then looked down at the cheesecake, trying to figure out what to say. He'd only known T'Challa for about a week or so. Yes, he thought the Alpha was hot. Yes, he thought he could love T'Challa someday. But it was too soon to say yes…wasn't it?

He'd known the others for longer, but he probably would have said yes if they'd asked him straight away too. And there was Matthew to think about. A solid mating between his parents would likely be beneficial.

"You are aware that Steve, Thor, Natasha, Clint and Bruce are also courting me?"

"I am aware."

"Good. And you know I haven't shared a heat with any of them so technically you're on even footing there. I won't have my heat until after the pups are finished nursing and even then I might decide to delay if circumstances are still tense. I'm also not a young Omega. Granted I look good for my age but I'm not a spring chicken."

"I am aware of your age. This matters little to me. We have Matthew. If he is the only child borne of our union, then so be it."

Tony nibbled on his lips. Irrationally he wished Pepper were there to give him advice. In the end he went with his heart, damaged and hopeless as it might be.

"I accept your offer," he stated formally, "I agree to let you court me.'

T'Challa's normally stoic face split into a wide grin and Tony's traitorous heart, or libido, swooned at the look.

 _Yeah, if I'm not careful, I'm going to fall head over heels for this guy and there's going to be nothing I can do to stop it_

 _._

 ***** Page Break *****

Now that the media and thus the entire world knew about the pups, it was time to make sure everyone knew all the pertinent information, so they couldn't get ambushed.

Pepper gathered them all into the communal area of the Tower for the meeting. She and her mates were hiding out until the fuss died down, Rhodey had taken up residence as well and both T'Challa and Shuri were also in attendance. Even the pups were on the floor surrounded by the adults.

"It's necessary to go outside," Pepper told them, "So we all need to be briefed. Everyone within spitting distance of Tony is going to be hounded at some point. And someone will let it slip. Ross and his friends might try to bargain the information for leniency. So, we need to do a controlled release of information and then let the chips fall where they may."

"Where do we start?" Steve asked.

"How about paternity of the pups?" Pepper suggested, "Rhodey and I know and I'm assuming you all know, but do Prince T'Challa and Princess Shuri know?"

"We do not," T'Challa stated.

Tony swallowed and began listing the pup's parentage to the room at large. "Aaron is Steve's, Storm is Thor's, Alexis and Vanessa belong to Natasha, Ryan and Maria are Clint's, Daniella and Mikaela belong to Bruce, Matthew is T'Challa's and finally, Caleb is the son of Bucky Barnes."

Silence. Tony kept his eyes on Caleb and tried not to think about T'Challa's reaction. Just the other day, they'd agreed to courting and before that, T'Challa had said he didn't know who had killed his father, meaning it couldn't be the Winter Soldier as advertised, right? So that should be fine, right?

"Has there been any luck in locating Mr Barnes?" Pepper asked when the silence started to become awkward.

Steve sighed, "No, I haven't been able to find any leads. He knows how to hide."

"Well, I believe we should put more resources behind bringing him in," Pepper stated, so calm and matter of fact.

"He will face severe judgement if you do," Shuri pointed out, not cold or cruel as Tony had expected, "He might not have killed my father, but he killed many others. The public will want justice for that."

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Pepper announced. "So, we all know who the pups belong to there can be no surprises. When we go before the public tomorrow to answer that question, Tony will be able to say he's keeping it private for the safety of the pups. No one will be caught unaware when the speculation begins. Until Barnes' situation is sorted, we need to keep that under wraps if we can."

"Now, we are not to mention the number of pups, how old they are, or anything personal. We're going to keep the pups out of the media as much as we can. As to your courting, this is the kind of news that generally brings happy storylines. It will depend upon the source of the media, but we might be able to swing some support if they hear what a happy Pride you all are forming." Pepper looked around with her no-nonsense expression. The firm jaw and steely eyes Tony fondly referred to as her General face.

Tony and his Alphas had announced, publicly, that they were courting, just a few hours previous on a televised recording. He could practically feel the media storm heading their way. It was too soon to tell if it was to be a good response or a negative one. After all the angst and indecision about when and how to release the information of their courting, Tony was a little disappointed with how anticlimactic it had ended up being.

"They will also ask about the Avengers, if you're still going to continue defending the country and fighting for freedom," Pepper looked around the room expectantly.

"We're taking a break for now, to work on our mating. After we've officially mated, we'll resume our duties as the Avengers." Steve explained.

"To the people who state the country comes before your mating?"

"We'll remind them that in the end, what are we fighting for if not our loved ones?"

Pepper nodded approvingly. "Good. Any other questions should be basically repeats of those. You'll have to be careful what you say, how you say it and to whom. I've given you a list of media outlets you are not to answer. Several of them will likely show up tomorrow and if they start to ask questions, remind them about the restraining orders Tony filed against them."

Everyone nodded obediently. Tony finally chanced a look at T'Challa and found the Prince brooding down at his shoes.

 _That's not a good sign_.

Pepper retired to her room with her mates while the Avengers started piling the pups back upstairs. They seemed to sense Tony wanted to be alone with T'Challa and left them both to talk.

"Are you okay with all this?" Tony asked when they were alone.

T'Challa blinked then focused on Tony, "I am used to the machinations of the press."

"I meant about Caleb," Tony watched the Alpha carefully. "I know you mentioned Barnes didn't kill your father but there was a time when he was blamed so it makes sense there might be some mixed-up emotions about…things."

T'Challa frowned then dropped to his knees in front of Tony, clasping their hands together in a warm, tight grip. "I do not blame Barnes. I certainly do not blame Caleb. If we are successful in forging a bond, he will be as much my son as Matthew. I love him for that."

"And if Barnes gets his head fixed and becomes a part of our lives? Will you be okay with that?"

"I cannot lie and say I do not have misgivings. He is a traumatised Alpha who has not been a person for a very long time. He has been a weapon and habits are a hard thing to break. But if he does manage to, as you say, fix his head, I will welcome him into our lives and be grateful Caleb has his blood father around."

Tony lunged forward and hugged the Wakandan royal with the kind of grip that left bruises, but neither seemed to care. He shuddered on a breath as a heavy weight fell off his shoulders.

Things were coming together at least.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

The media had been abuzz with news of the enlargement of the Stark family for weeks. Tony had been apprehensive at first, then curious, now he was mostly indifferent. They just kept repeating the same thing over and over.

 _Tony Stark: Playboy, Billionaire…Father?_

 _Stark announces Heirs to his Throne_

 _Avengers Announce they are forming a Pride – With Tony Stark as the Omega!_

 _Our Greatest Heroes Declare Their Love for their Billionaire Teammate_

"When are they going to come up with something else?" Tony groaned as he gave up and turned the TV off. It was a relief that so far there were no snide fluff pieces about how their relationship wouldn't work, how Tony was the devil incarnate corrupting the icon of America, blah, blah, blah. Tony counted it as a win but wouldn't hold his breath that the media wouldn't turn on him in the future.

"When another celebrity becomes more interesting than you," Clint retorted with a grin. Tony threw a potato chip at the archer who caught it in his mouth.

Steve suddenly appeared with a frown on his face and a stern set to his shoulders.

"What's wrong?" Tony asked his agitated Alpha.

"There's a new lead on Bucky…near a suspected Hydra base," Steve replied grimly.

Tony's breath hitched, he shivered with a sudden feeling of doom. "You're heading out now?"

Steve nodded, "Not just me. SHIELD has asked us to check out the base, destroy it and steal whatever data we can. It's all well protected so I need everyone on this."

Around the room, the others were all switching to their Avenger persona. Tony could see it. No longer were they Alphas hanging around their mate and children, now they were Alphas about to defend the territory. It was strange to see.

"Will you be okay without T'Challa and Thor?" Tony asked. Despite strong protests, Thor had been summoned back to Asgard. He claimed his mother was just calling him for a visit but Tony had been almost sick with nerves when the rainbow lights took his courting Alpha away.

T'Challa was closer than Asgard but still so far away from them. The royal had headed home to sort some things out. Some very secretive things Tony hadn't been allowed to know about. But T'Challa promised he'd be back as soon as he could.

"There's a new teammate we're going to try out, as ordered by the Council," Steve explained, "Sam Wilson, code-name Falcon. He'll be our air support."

"A new guy on such an important mission?" Tony asked, feeling all kinds of wrong now, "Is that a good idea? To throw a new player into the mix?"

"He's known to us, we worked with him a few times and it went well," Steve explained. He moved over and sat by Tony, easing the remote from his hand. Tony blinked at his aching hand and realised he'd been clenching it so hard he'd lost circulation in his fingers.

"We'll be fine," Steve murmured softly, "This is what we do."

Tony nodded miserably then allowed himself to be brought into a tight hug. He was vaguely aware of the others moving around him, getting their gear and uniforms ready.

"Do you need me for this?" Bruce asked.

Steve nodded, and Bruce started suiting up without another word. Tony buried his head in Steve's chest and fought not to whine.

He was going to be alone again. He hadn't been alone in more than a month. The pups were nearing five months of age, nearing their weaning period and becoming more active. It would be harder to take care of them alone.

 _It's not like I have a choice though, is it?_

He would take care of his pups until his Alphas came back. Then he would give serious thought to speeding up the date of their official bonding. Oddly, for someone who had avoided it all his life, he wanted some sort of stability. For him and his pups. Being Mated wouldn't solve everything, but it would be a good start.

"How long will you be gone for?"

"A few days, a week at most."

A week. He could deal with that.

He watched with some detachment as they all readied for battle. They dressed in their gear, checked their weapons and comms. Prepped the plane. Tony stood to the side and felt a moment of longing, where he wanted to badly to join them. Then he thought of his pups and knew it wasn't happening. Someone had to stay behind and care for the pups. As the nursing Omega, it had to be him.

Before leaving, they all took time to say goodbye. He could sense their unease at leaving him but also saw the excitement of the action to come. For one selfish moment he thought about demanding they stay. But that would spell the end of more than just their team.

He was left behind as the plane took off from the roof. He watched until the lights disappeared into the clouds then he went back inside to a very lonely building that suddenly felt too cold.

It took four days for the Avengers to return and when they did, they weren't alone, but it wasn't with the expected person.

Steve came into the room with a tired smile and a redhead under his arm, clinging to him like a vine. She certainly wasn't this Sam Wilson character he'd heard about.

Tony regarded the petite woman. Her red hair wasn't the dark red of Natasha's hair or the ginger of Pepper's. The girl's hair was more akin to blood somehow, thick and dark. The hair only looked red in certain lights, otherwise it appeared a mixture of brown and black. Her eyes were hazel and something about them made Tony think he was looking into the eyes of a predator.

"Hey Tony, we have a guest who needs a place to stay," Steve greeted him without a hug seeing as his hands were full of the small woman who refused to let go, "This is Wanda Maximoff."

Steve explained that when the Avengers had stormed the suspected Hydra compound, they'd found a lot less resistance than they'd thought. After tearing their way through the defences, they'd found already-abandoned labs with computers wiped clean and filing cabinets on fire. Then in one lab they'd found a cage, inside of which was a naked sobbing girl who called herself Wanda. She'd been experimented on and her family murdered, she had no where else to go so the Avengers had taken her with them.

"So, no Bucky?" Tony asked. Clint tapped Wanda on the shoulder then led her downstairs to a spare floor. Natasha went with them to visit her own floor and try to find something for the girl to wear.

Steve shook his head with a sigh, disappointment clear in the slump of his shoulders. "If he was there, he's long gone."

"Well, we won't give up," Tony said gently, "We'll keep searching. He'll surface again."

Steve nodded then turned and strode from the room without another word. Tony let him go.

"So, what happened to Wanda?" Tony asked Bruce when it was just the two of them.

Bruce shook his head, "She won't talk about it. I'm not even sure she remembers."

"Does she need a doctor?"

Bruce frowned, "I cleared her. She's fine."

Tony blinked in surprise at the sharpness in Bruce's tone then forged on, realising he must have offended his fellow scientist, "I meant a medical doctor. You're always saying how you're 'not that type of doctor'".

Bruce relaxed slightly and seemed to think about it. "She seemed okay. I'll talk to her in the morning about seeing a doctor."

Tony watched him leave and sat at the table for a long moment. Why did he still feel like something was going to go wrong?

 ***** Page Break *****

Tony wasn't sure what to make of the new girl. She seemed nice and meek, gentle even. But there was something about her that made Tony suspicious. Nothing he could put a finger on, but he was uneasy having her around. Bringing it up to his Alphas became akin to dodging minefields.

"She's been through a lot," Steve scolded when Tony tried to talk to him about Wanda's continued presence in the Tower.

"I know she has but she's not going to get better by staying locked up here," Tony tried to reason, "She needs to see someone, a professional trained to help with trauma."

"She's not crazy." Steve sounded insulted.

"I never said she was," Tony replied patiently, "But-"

"This discussion is over." Steve stalked off, leaving Tony alone in the nursery. He seemed to be alone a lot lately.

"Good talk," Tony muttered to the empty doorway.

Wanda had been in the Tower for two weeks and there was still no mention of her leaving. He'd tried not to put pressure on his teammates, but it was getting ridiculous.

Since the girl had arrived, they never spent time with him. He was always up in the nursery with the pups and the team were always with Wanda. They watched movies, took her out to show her the city, all the things they used to do with him. Tony had tried, he really had, to let it be. He knew his Alphas had big hearts and they were trying to help this poor girl, but there was a line between caring about someone, and ignoring all else in favour of that person.

He wished Rhodey was around, but the Alpha was on some super-secret mission for the military. Pepper was happily celebrating the announcement of Cassandra's pregnancy and Tony didn't want to rain on her parade with his complaints. Thor was still AWOL and T'Challa wouldn't be back for another few weeks, maybe more. That left Tony feeling both lonely and guilty, because it wasn't as if he was alone. He had his courting Alphas with him, it was just that they were being distant at the moment.

Tony checked on his pups one last time then headed down to where he knew everyone would be. The communal floor. They were watching a movie, he'd heard them talking about it earlier. No one had invited him though.

 _They probably each thought one of the others had invited you. It's fine._

Tony pasted a smile on his face as he entered the living room. The smile fell a little when he found his usual place, the middle of the big couch, taken by Wanda.

"Hey, Tony," Bruce called from his armchair without taking his eyes off the screen. No one else said anything. No one else but Wanda even looked at him.

"Hey, so what are we watching?" Tony asked, moving around to the empty armchair by Bruce.

"Ssh!" Clint hissed from his habitual place on the back of the couch. Tony jumped a little at how vehement the sound was. He hadn't been _that_ loud had he? He turned his attention to the TV and sat quietly, watching some crime drama.

Even when the movie was over, Tony had no idea what it was about.

As the end credits rolled he stretched and yawned. He turned to Bruce, to ask him if he wanted to sleep in the courting bed with him, but the scientist was already up and hurrying from the room.

"Where's he going in such a hurry?" Tony asked the others who still lingered.

"He said something about experiments being time sensitive," Clint shrugged then flipped over the couch and sauntered from the room.

Tony turned to Steve and asked coyly, "Wanna come up to bed?"

Steve gave him a look like he was disappointed, and the expression took Tony aback, "Not tonight."

"But I hardly ever see you anymore," Tony tried not to whine but he knew it sounded that way by the darkening of Natasha's expression. The assassin hated his whining.

"You sound like a jealous lover," Steve sneered, giving him a dirty look which made Tony feel stupid.

"I'm not jealous, I'm lonely and I want to spend time with you," Tony tried to explain because this had been building for a while. But he sensed some sort of doom heading his way. He could feel the rising tension in the room and he couldn't stop it.

Steve sighed and looked tired. Tony felt bad about pressuring him and opened his mouth to say so but Steve's next words stopped him cold. "I wish to withdraw my courtship."

 _What. The. Fuck?!_

"What?" Tony croaked, his voice unable to fully express the raging turmoil choking his insides. "What did you say?"

"You heard me," Steve snorted, "I want to withdraw my courtship. Recent events have demonstrated you are not the kind of Omega I want to have for my lifetime. You're petty and jealous and you're greedy. I want someone who won't demand every bit of me and leave nothing else. I want an Omega who can stand beside me not try to get ahead all the time. I want someone I can trust."

Tony could only gape as the words lashed out at him. He'd thought of those same things many times. In the back of his mind he'd known his faults and wondered if his Alphas would one day wake up and resent them. He'd managed to convince himself they wouldn't, that his Alphas knew his flaws and accepted them.

How could he be so wrong?

His gaze slid from Steve and landed on Natasha who was regarding him much the same way she had the first time they'd met. Cool detachment and a little disdain.

"Now that Steve's finally pulled that trigger, I suppose I should as well," she stated, cool and calm, "I too withdraw my courtship. My reasons being your arrogance, your potential unfaithfulness and your disregard for your superiors."

Tony wanted to cry but couldn't. His guts were cold, and his throat sealed up tight. He couldn't speak. He could barely breath as his world tumbled down around him.

This was a nightmare, it had to be. Any minute now he'd wake up and his Alphas would be there to calm him down, to soothe him. They would tell him it was not true. That they loved him and wouldn't leave him and their pups.

The pups.

His throat unclosed in mounting horror, "What about the pups?"

"I'll be suing for custody of Aaron," Steve declared.

"I'll be doing the same for Vanessa and Alexis," Natasha agreed, "They need strong influences in their life, not weak-willed monsters like you."

Tony shook his head fiercely and as he did his eyes caught on Wanda. She'd stood with Steve and Natasha, wrapping a blanket around herself. She was smirking. A bizarre red mist dancing around her clenched fists and merriment lighting her dark eyes into a demonic shade.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Tony started advancing, not sure what the plan was. Maybe if he could point it out he could convince the others something was wrong. He never got the chance.

Wanda screamed, loud and terrified, crocodile tears pouring down her pale face. She hunched in on herself as if she'd been stabbed and both Steve and Natasha crowded around her, pulling her in close like they were trying to protect her.

Something solid collided with Tony and sent him sprawling. His head hit something – the coffee table? – and he yelped. Touching his head, he found blood and his vision swam. Slowly he moved to sit and found himself surrounded by four pissed off Alphas, flooding the room with angry pheromones.

"What did you do to her?" Clint demanded, grabbing Tony's arm and pulling him to his feet with a harsh grip. Tony swayed on his feet and when Clint pushed him, no one caught him. He managed to get his knees under him and didn't fall on his face this time, but it was close.

"I knew you were a pathetic jerk, Stark, but I didn't know you'd stoop to attacking a defenceless girl," Clint snarled. He spat in Tony's direction and Tony flinched from the insult and the glob of saliva that nearly landed on his face, "I withdraw my courtship."

Tony whimpered and tried to stand. No one helped him.

On his feet he turned to Bruce, his last hope.

"I withdraw my courtship."

 _No!_

Four of his Alphas had just rejected him, and his inner Omega was drowning in misery and confusion. What had gone wrong? Why was this happening?

"You should leave the Tower, tonight," Steve growled, low and animalistic, "We don't want you here to pull any more stunts. Take the pups, we'll file papers in the morning."

Tony found himself stumbling from the room. He vaguely registered JARVIS trying to talk to him, but he was too stunned to listen. His brain was stuck.

How had this happened?

They'd been happy…hadn't they?

Had he really seen that red mist around Wanda or had it been his mind playing tricks on him?

Where was he going to go now?

He packed up the pups on autopilot. Carried them down to the van. He allowed JARVIS to steer the van while he sat in the passenger seat. He wasn't even sure where he was going until the door opened next to him.

"Tony?"

A soft familiar voice. Safe. He whined but didn't look at the voice. He was beyond words. Shock? Horror? Trauma? Was there a right word for what he was feeling?

"Tony, look at me."

He obeyed the command, still running on autopilot. He focused on red hair, soft ginger rather than blood, and bright blue eyes instead of dark.

Safe.

"Oh Tony."

He fell forward into Pepper's waiting arms.

 ***** Page Break *****

He woke up in the wrong bed and for a moment he was confused. Then he was swamped with an unending feeling of grief. He bawled, loud and wild, into the pillow he pressed tightly to his face. He didn't know how long he cried but eventually someone took the pillow away and replaced it with a warm body.

A soft voice hushed his cries, rubbed his back. He whined and whimpered and writhed against the arms holding him. They held on just tight enough to keep him from escaping. They didn't hurt him.

Finally, he couldn't cry anymore. He lay panting, weak and limp, eyes swollen closed and nausea swirling his belly. He felt hot and cold all over and wasn't sure if he wanted to bury himself further into that embrace or run away from it.

"It's okay, Tony." The soothing voice caused a whimper to emerge from his throat. "You're okay. You're safe now."

Cracking his eyes open he was met with a splitting headache and warm hazel eyes. Cassandra Swan, Pepper's pregnant Omega. Tony inhaled her sweet scent, revelling in the nurturing pheromones of an expectant Omega. It soothed the ache deep in his soul where his rejected Omega was still cowering.

"My pups?" he eventually managed to croak.

Cassandra smiled, "They're safe in the next room, Pepper and Happy are taking care of them, but they need their mother." The gentle urging galvanised him into action. He struggled to sit and then wished he hadn't. The nausea returned full force and his head swam. Abruptly he turned and flopped over the side of the bed, vomiting into the bin shoved under his face at the last moment.

Empty and exhausted, he finally closed his eyes and willed his head to stop swimming.

"The doctor said you'd probably be nauseous, head wounds tend to do that," Cassandra told him quietly. He was grateful for the soft volume of her voice. "Only time will make the worst of it go away."

Tony wasn't sure if she was talking about his head wound or…the other thing.

"Tony?" Another voice, Pepper's husky tones, spoke from above him somewhere but he wasn't brave enough to open his eyes again. "I have some medicine that will help, I promise."

Tony opened his mouth and swallowed some liquid that tasted foul. He grimaced at the taste but kept it down. Then he waited. He was aware of Pepper and Cassandra talking quietly, but he had to distance himself from the real world to avoid the pain. He slowly relaxed as the pain ebbed then faded. He breathed a sigh of relief when the sharp pains stopped then braced himself to open his eyes again.

He was in Pepper's room, only now it wasn't just hers anymore. He recognised the textures of others in the room. Barely anything was just Pepper's anymore. That was the way a true mating should be.

He shivered and shoved that thought away.

"How are you feeling, Tony?" Pepper sat beside him on the bed as he gingerly moved to a more upright position.

He felt the skin on his head tug and he reached up, confused by the bandage on his temple. He looked to Pepper for an explanation.

"What do you remember about yesterday?" she asked.

Tony frowned. "I…had a fight…with the others. They all-." He couldn't finish the sentence.

Pepper seemed to know anyway. Her eyes were sympathetic. "You had a fight and came here with the pups. You were hurt and we couldn't get much out of you. But… you said they broke their courtship?"

Tony could only nod. Once. More of a head jerk than a nod.

"And one of them pushed you?"

Another nod.

"Then they sent you away."

It wasn't a question, but he nodded again anyway.

"Okay." Pepper stood and gave a small smile. "That's a problem for tomorrow. Today, we're going to get you back to feeding your pups. They've been fussy with what we've been feeding them. Maybe you'll have other ideas."

Tony frowned. "Fussy? They drink milk."

"And what else have you tried them with?" Pepper asked, a peculiar look beginning to appear on her face.

"Nothing, they're not old enough yet." Tony continued frowning as Pepper's eyes widened a little then she smiled, her fake smile. "What's with the face?"

"What face?"

"That face you're pulling right now."

"This is my face, Tony."

"No, it's your fake smile face with something else mixed in around the eyes."

Pepper looked torn. She glanced at the door then seemed to come to a decision. She sat down next to Tony and took his hands. Tony had a bizarre feeling something bad was going to happen…again.

"Tony." She started then stopped, took a deep breath as if bracing herself, then she met his eye. "How old are the pups?"

"A little over five months." That look deepened. Tony felt his heart start to race. Something was going on. "Pepper, just tell me."

Pepper licked her lips, a rare sign of nerves, then, "Tony, the pups turned six months old four days ago."

A shiver of fear raced up his spine. Six months? No, that couldn't be right. They were five months and change. They were not six months. He racked his brain, doing the math. No, five months, not six.

But the look of determination on Pepper's face, that solid expression of certainty, shook his foundations. "What's the date?"

Pepper rattled off a date, even a month, that should have been weeks away. He shuddered and panted, trying to calm himself down. He'd lost time? He'd lost weeks?

"How long was I out?" he asked, hoping somehow the headwound had caused the gap in time.

"Only about ten hours. Your body needed the rest, I guess."

 _Yeah, especially since I've apparently been skipping days doing who knows what!_

The sick feeling of panic crawled up his throat and he turned to vomit into the bid again. He spat up bile and nothing else. He hoped he hadn't just gotten rid of his medicine.

"I'm missing weeks." He finally rasped. "How?"

"We have an idea," Pepper whispered soothingly, "But nothing for certain yet."

Tony wanted to say more, ask more, but his mind was whirling, and he couldn't figure out what to ask except for one very important thing. "Take me to my pups." He had to see them. He had to make sure they were okay.

 ***** Page Break *****

Tony hummed to his children. He'd been singing to them a lot, to get them to sleep and to soothe something in his cracked psyche that demanded he speak to someone. The pups couldn't talk back but their familiar cries and gurgles soothed his bruised Omega.

He'd been with Pepper two days, most of which he spent in bed recovering from his head wound. He was allowed out of bed to tend to his pups but otherwise he was on bed rest. Apparently, Cassandra was a real mother-hen, way worse than Pepper or Happy. She was always close at hand but giving him enough space, so he didn't feel crowded. He appreciated her tact, but it was time for answers.

After settling the last of his pups off to their afternoon nap, he joined the three mates in their living room. It was a spacious area with large couches and comfy pillows. It was nothing like the extravagance of the Tower for which Tony was oddly grateful. He'd thought he might feel homesick away from his usual indulgences, but he found it almost a relief.

"So, what happens now?" Tony asked Pepper. She was his best friend, aside from Rhodey, and she was the leader of this Pride.

"We need to figure out a way to separate Maximoff from the team," Pepper said. She hadn't called them by name once, distancing herself from them. Ever the diplomat.

"How do we do that?"

"There's a man we came across in the files you had JARVIS go through to find dirt on Ross," Pepper explained, tapping away at her Starkpad. "He's a former surgeon turned…sorcerer, apparently."

"A sorcerer?" Tony scoffed, "Like magic?"

"What better way to fight magic than with magic?" Pepper arched the Brow of Doom and Tony zipped his lips shut. "We don't know how Maximoff got her powers but hopefully this man can take them away or something."

"How do we find him?"

"He's a tough guy to locate." Pepper pulled up some sort of chart. "He has friends in this world that can pass messages on to him and I've already asked them to contact me when he resurfaces. Until then, it's a waiting game."

"I've never been good at waiting." Tony sighed and slumped in his chair.

"I know. But we can't deal with an unknown enemy who seems to be controlling the world's mightiest heroes." Pepper shot him a sympathetic look and he turned away.

"Fine. What's this guy's name anyway?"

"Doctor Stephen Strange."

Tony opened his mouth to remark on what he thought about that name, but he was interrupted by a deep American voice speaking from the wall beside him. The solid wall. "You called?"

With a yelp, he jumped to his feet and backed away from the man suddenly standing in his friend's home. He wore truly odd garments and a bright red cloak that could rival Thor's. It also seemed to ripple like it was fluttering in a breeze.

Happy snarled, a low feral sound and shoved Cassandra behind him. Pepper bared her teeth and did the same with Tony. He would have been offended if he wasn't so startled.

"Whoa, calm down," the newcomer held up his hands and offered them all a charming smile, "I heard you were looking for me and I thought I'd drop in and see what the fuss was about."

Pepper recovered first. "You're Dr Strange?"

"The one and only. I also go by Sorcerer Supreme." The man bowed, the cloak slipped off his shoulders and…floated beside him.

"Umm…" Pepper gestured helplessly to the cloak.

"Oh, that's the Cloak of Levitation. Has a mind of its own. Don't worry it won't do anything." Dr Strange dismissed the floating cape with barely a glance. The cloak almost seemed to puff up with indignation and floated further away.

"Right." Pepper seemed to shake herself out of her confusion and then straightened up to address the man. "So, you're Dr Strange. The man we've been searching for."

"Yes I am. I believe you wanted help on a magical matter."

Pepper set to explaining the situation as Happy ushered Cassandra from the room and Tony moved to place himself between the sorcerer and his pups.

He gave a loud yelp when something landed on his bruised shoulders. He turned his head and found the cloak…trying to pat him?

"Umm, what's your cloak doing?" was that his voice that sounded so nervous.

"Comforting you I believe. It has a very empathetic persona." Dr Strange didn't seem to see anything wrong with the exchange so Tony gave in to his curiosity and touched the red material of the Cloak. It was soft and heavy. There was something old about it, not antique or frayed, but aged somehow.

"Wow," he murmured because the Cloak made him feel better. He somehow felt like he was being hugged.

The Cloak settled further onto his shoulders and he left it alone, turning back to the conversation between Pepper and Dr Strange.

"It sounds like this girl has some sort of power, though not something I've explicitly heard of. Let me do some research and surveillance and see what I can come up with." Dr Strange moved to face the wall again and the Cloak left Tony to resettle on the sorcerer's shoulders. He missed it immediately. The man and Cloak disappeared through the wall, leaving Tony and Pepper staring at it in awe.

"Well that just happened," Cassandra piped up from the doorway where she'd finally managed to get in front of Happy.

Tony couldn't help the laugh that burst from him at the comment. But it quickly died when there was a knock at the door.

Happy went to answer it while Tony's heart sank, and his stomach churned with foreboding. Cassandra ushered him to the chair, but he couldn't take his eyes off the door Happy had gone through. Happy returned with a grim face and a large envelope clasped in his big hands.

"Sorry, boss," he said, handing over the envelope to Tony. With shaking hands, he opened it up and started reading the contents.

His former Alphas, the sires of seven of his pups, were suing for full custody. They'd hired a lawyer and were refusing any kind of deal. It was full custody they wanted, and they made it clear they were going to get it.

Tony dropped the papers onto the floor and pressed his fists into his eyes as he began to cry, loud heartbroken sobs. Unlike the pain he'd felt after his Alphas rejected and booted him out, this was pure heartbreak and disappointment. The people he'd trusted with his heart had betrayed him and were trying to take the most important thing in the world from him. His pups.

The tears suddenly dried up as some deep instinct stirred to life inside him. He wiped his tears and glared at the papers on the floor. So neat and pristine. He wanted to rip them to tiny pieces. He was ashamed at how much he had cried, enough to soak his shirt and the shirts of his friends surrounding him. But it had been good for one thing. It had solidified a determination in him. He wasn't going to just sit back and let this happen. He wasn't going to roll over and accept it. He was going to make them bleed, kick them while they were down and laugh over their ruined plans.

 _If they want a fight, they're going to get one._

 ***** Page Break *****

After the initial court date – which none but Tony and the lawyers involved attended – the next appearance was scheduled for six weeks later.

More than enough time for Tony to pack up and move. He was going home, back to Malibu. He'd sold his house on the sly and bough a new one. It was perfect for a large Pride and a great deal of pups. The kids would appreciate the space now that they were on the move.

Crawling might not look fast but when ten pups all took off in different directions it was a supreme effort to corral them. Tony enjoyed the exercise but also loathed doing it alone. It reminded him of what he was missing, and he hated himself for the nostalgia. He needed to look to the future.

T'Challa had been warned there was severe upheaval in the Tower and to not return there under any circumstances. He hadn't been told everything, but Tony had made the royal promise not to have any contact with any of the Avengers. The last thing the world needed was Maximoff getting her claws into someone as powerful as T'Challa.

Tony had also requested that the king not come to him for a time. Having four of his courting Alphas reject him at once was a traumatic experience and he simply couldn't handle being around more potential heartache. He talked to the Wakandan on the phone and even Skyped with him a few times. He sent videos of Matthew and reports on his progress to keep the sire in the loop.

But he couldn't handle being around anyone.

Pepper had been great but when Tony had learnt about the lawsuit, he'd had a sudden moment of clarity. He needed to leave New York. He'd been thinking about it for a while of course. The city had never really been home. The team had been his home and now that they were gone, he wanted familiarity and safety.

So, he returned to what he knew. Pepper and her mates were even going to come and visit as well so he wouldn't be lonely all the time. But he needed to move on with his life.

He hadn't heard from Rhodey and he missed his friend, but maybe it was a good thing that Rhodey wouldn't see him all down and broken. He would hopefully resurface when Tony was better.

In the meantime, he had a new home to decorate. So far, he had the basics: cots for the pups, bed for himself, kitchen appliances, plus a few other items. But he needed real furniture, real decorations, real homey touches.

And for the first time, he would get to pick out everything for himself. He was almost giddy with excitement.

The new home he bought had two floors to it's immense structure. The second floor was comprised of bedrooms. A massive master bedroom with an equally large bathroom attached to it took up a good chunk of one end of the floor. There was also a large room for Prides to use as a nursery and then a playroom. The rest of the floor was made up of twelve generously sized bedrooms that would remain empty for years, and just as many bathrooms.

On the ground floor there was a super-sized kitchen, dining room, living room, another bathroom, an entertainment room and a sunroom connecting to the back porch. There was also a six-car garage attached to the house and a shed on the other side he could use as a lab. Outside was a big garden, a patio out the back for entertaining and cooking, and a giant pool.

Somehow, Pepper had managed to find Tony his dream home and make it available the day he announced he wanted to move.

 _I will never question her super powers again. I might also need to start serious grovelling for when she takes over the world._

Tony shut the door on the master bedroom and pretended it wasn't there. He even installed a bookcase in front of the door. Not that he read many books, but he found random items to decorate the shelves with. He couldn't stand to look at it, thinking of its purpose and knowing it would never happen.

He designed the nursery with the colours and pictures he wanted to expose his pups to. He paid an artist to paint soft rainbow colours and baby animals over the walls. He hung their favourite mobiles and made sure the room was perfect for his growing brood. Toys lined the walls and would continue to grow as time passed. Toyboxes would become essential soon.

The bedroom just across the hall from the pups was one he designed to his very own liking. He set up his bed which he bought brand new. He thought about moving his old bed from the Tower, but he couldn't trust that one of the Tower's occupants wouldn't tamper with it somehow.

He was going to burn all that stuff when he got the chance. Or they could keep it. It didn't matter to him, most of the stuff in the Tower was easily replaceable. He'd shut his lab down and had JARVIS monitor if anyone even went near it. So far, they couldn't seem to be bothered with his lab.

He didn't have the heart to ask JARVIS about what his former Alphas were up to. For all he knew, they were fucking Maximoff on the bed that used to be theirs. His stomach always twisted at the thought he'd been replaced.

Was Maximoff even an Omega? He'd never been able to determine what she was. She rarely went near him and when she did there was always someone else around to mask her scent. It was an oddly blank smell, cold and crisp. Perhaps she was wearing blockers, or she'd had her dynamic removed. It was a horrifying thought, for someone to lose their dynamic. It could only be performed by a very invasive surgery and years of minor surgeries afterwards.

Tony hoped it had hurt.

Before he moved he snuck into the Tower with a bunch of helpful people and had all his equipment and his bots loaded into large trucks. The team were out with Maximoff, showing her whatever it was that was so interesting around the city.

Now it was all settled into the lab and locked up tight with JARVIS installed over the entire house.

"Dream home," he muttered to himself, giddy with his new life. He was free of the press for the time being. They were speculating about his absence but with nothing concrete they were simply mumbling theories. He had his pups; the perfect house and his friends would be coming to visit soon.

His life was far from great if he thought about it too much, but he was delighted with what he had. Best not to think about what he didn't if he wanted to get some sleep before his little monsters started waking up.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

"This place looks great," Pepper gushed when she came to visit a full three weeks after Tony left the Tower. The Avengers hadn't gone on any missions in that time, in fact, no one had heard from them. There was beginning to be murmurings in the press about the team ditching Tony, but nothing substantial. Aside from the pending lawsuit to determine custody of the pups, there hadn't been any contact with anyone inside the Tower.

Tony was both glad and depressed for a multitude of reasons.

"Thanks," Tony preened at the praise. He hugged his friends and kissed Cassandra on the cheek before inviting them into the living room.

"How's being a pregnant Omega?" Tony asked when they were all settled, "Any cravings?"

"Goddess, don't talk to me about food," Cassandra moaned, looking a little green.

Tony grimaced in sympathy. "Morning sickness?"

"All day sickness."

"Sorry."

"What are you apologising for? You didn't get me knocked up."

"You're right," Tony pointed at Pepper and Happy, "Apologise to your Omega."

"We do. Constantly," Happy winced, "Last time she threw a towel at my head."

"Well, at least you're good for target practice," Tony quipped then turned to Cassandra, "Are you okay? Is there something I can get you? Wanna lie down?"

"I'd love a lie down after that long trip," Cassandra gratefully rose to her feet and went upstairs to the room Tony had made up for the Pride.

When she was gone, Tony turned to the Alphas and glared at them, "You shouldn't have come if she was so sick. I would have understood."

"She insisted," Happy defended, "Then she threw a pillow at us when we tried to argue."

Tony snickered, "Hormones. Glad I didn't have to live through that. It's bad enough I got these." He gestured to his chest. It was slowly shrinking as his body moved past the phase of needing to supply milk to the pups. They were almost exclusively on soft food things now.

"They'll be gone before you know it," Pepper waved it away.

Tony sniffed at the glib response then they sat in a companionable silence. The only sounds were the occasional muttering coming through on the baby monitor and the whir of the electronics in the room.

"How are things in New York?" Tony hadn't meant to ask the question, but it had somehow slipped out and he discovered he was desperate to know.

Pepper and Happy glanced at each other then leant closer to Tony. Happy spoke first, "Actually, we have some news." He looked to Pepper to continue and moved to sit on Tony's other side, as if protecting him.

"Yesterday, Dr Strange contacted us," Pepper stated, "He took Maximoff into custody. He said her magical talents weren't natural, it was engineered. We're assuming Hydra, considering where she was found. Her magic has been stripped from her or compressed maybe, Strange was a bit unclear. He's holding her in some phantom prison for magic wielders."

Tony blew out a sharp breath, realising he'd been holding his breath. "She can't use her powers anymore?" He decided to skip over the whole "phantom prison" thing for the moment.

"No. Strange has her completely cut off from her bastardised magic," Pepper paused. "Maximoff is in a cell, awaiting interrogation. Strange will get her to spill her secrets when he gets back. He took the Avengers away to wherever it is the sorcerers all live. He said something about how they needed cleansing."

Tony swallowed at the mention of his former courting Alphas. He pushed the anxiety away and focused on what he could handle, "She can't escape?"

"From what I understand, her prison isn't even in this world. There's no way she can get out and try to hurt you again," Pepper's eyes were soft and compassionate. She squeezed his hand and Tony gripped onto it like a lifeline.

Should he feel glad? He was in a way. Glad that Maximoff was no longer a threat. That she would pay for her crimes. He was also pissed, because just thinking about her brought back all the horror of missing time and wondering what had happened during those weeks he still couldn't remember.

About the Avengers? He wasn't sure what was real. Had Maximoff truly forced them to turn on him? Or had that been their true selves, forced to the surface? Were the words they spouted truth or lies? He didn't want to know for sure, didn't think he could handle it if they truly thought of him that way.

So, maybe he did know what he was feeling. But it was a whole mess of things he didn't know how to untangle or deal with.

"There's something else." Pepper eyed him warily as if unsure she should continue but when Tony arched a brow she took that as a sign to continue. "SHIELD took James Barnes into custody last week."

"What?" Tony wasn't sure if he should be relieved the brainwashed former-assassin was safe under lock and key or outraged that dear old Nick Fury hadn't told him.

 _It's the Captain America thing all over again! They didn't tell me when they found and dethawed Steve now they haven't told me about Barnes._

"Barnes was spotted loitering around the Tower. Coulson took him in before the Avengers could spot him and they've had him in recovery since then. He was malnourished and confused but otherwise okay. He's getting care for his…mental injuries but Director Fury wants you to come up with something to help him if you can."

"Why didn't Nick ask me himself?"

"Because he's a drama queen who likes cloak and dagger stuff," Pepper replied breezily. She winked at Tony's startled laugh, "He's going to call tomorrow and talk to you about it."

Tony nodded slowly, staring through his friends for several long minutes. They stared back, waiting.

"I'm going to go up and check on the pups," Tony murmured and fled to the nursery without looking at his friends.

He sat in the rocking chair, watching his slumbering pups. They would wake soon, demand food, and he would have to set up all the highchairs and bibs. He did a lot of cleaning. He was also considering moving the nursery downstairs until the pups could climb the stairs on their own.

Handling ten growing pups on his own had been so much easier when they were little.

When the first pup began to stir, Tony stood and picked them up. It was Aaron. He swallowed at the familiar blue eyes and blonde hair. The pup smiled up at him, gummy and happy. He smiled back, "How's my sweet boy?" Aaron flung his hands up and squealed, waking several of his siblings who grumbled at the sudden awakening. "You're very loud. That's good. It means you'll always be heard."

 ***** Page Break *****

Tony used the extra hands he had around the house to score some alone time. The pups were in the living room with Pepper and her mates. They would be well entertained for a while, so Tony snuck up to his room and flopped onto his unmade bed.

He stared up at the ceiling and tried to sort out everything in his head. He'd always dealt best with numbers and facts. They were a cold comfort but at least they didn't lie. He started to list everything:

Fact 1: Maximoff was locked up where she could never hurt anyone. She was powerless according to the Sorcerer Supreme. Even after such a short meeting, Tony knew Strange could match him for arrogance, so he was inclined to believe the man.

Tony wished her a slow roast in Hell for all that he knew she'd done. And he was filled with a sick certainty that she had done much more than he knew about. Bringing him to Fact 2: The Avengers were now free of her influence and receiving care with the sorcerers.

This second certainty led to more questions than answers though. How much of their last encounter had been Maximoff's influence? All of it? Just some of it? Did they even remember what had happened?

More importantly, could they ever get back to what they had?

Tony scrubbed his hands over his face with a deep sigh. He needed to focus on what he knew for now. Guessing was just making his head hurt. He would eventually find closure to all his questions, he would just have to wait. No matter how much he hated waiting.

Fact 3: Barnes was in custody. He would receive care and hopefully get better.

The man had murdered his parents. The hunt for the assassin had led to Hydra bases and information dumps. It was a complicated mess and Tony was still untangling all the knots. And that was just about Tony's feelings towards the man. There was a whole other tangled web where Steve was concerned.

He wasn't sure if he could ever face the man himself. Could have any sort of positive relationship with him. But they shared a child together, a fact Barnes didn't know about. Tony had to decide if he was going to tell Barnes, and what they would do after.

Problems for another day.

Fact 4: His pups were happy and growing well. Tony and his pups were flourishing in their new home.

Tony would eventually be found by the press. Not his address because he knew better now. But he would have to resurface for Stark Industries business. Or Avengers business. Or any number of things. He couldn't stay hidden forever.

Fact 5: The lawsuit was still pending. Though the Avengers were tucked away in their little corner of the world, the lawyers they'd hired were working in their stead. Tony had received contact from his own lawyers about how things were progressing. It was another issue with the Avengers that raised more questions than answers.

Was the lawsuit a Maximoff-inspired thing, or their true intent? Would it go away when the Avengers came back? Did they even realise what was going on? What damage would be done before the dust settled?

Fact 6: He still had T'Challa and Thor.

T'Challa had been in contact every day and Tony had finally agreed to let the Wakandan visit him. The king would be flying in the day after next. Thor was still incommunicado, but Tony was hopeful this visit would sort out everything once and for all.

Fact 7: No matter what happened, Tony still had Pepper and Rhodey. Pepper had her Pride of Happy and Cassandra and their unborn pup, or pups. Rhodey was seeing someone new, an Omega male named Sam. Tony had heard about this younger man over the past few months and finally Rhodey was giving in and letting him meet the family.

Tony was family whether this newcomer liked it or not. And he would make sure Sam knew it and accepted it. Also, it was his duty as Rhodey's brother to check that the prospective partner was good enough. Rhodey had done that every time Tony brought a date home, and Tony was now relishing the opportunity for some payback. Bring on the awkward stories, Tony would have his revenge.

"Tony, Vanessa, or maybe Alexis, is trying to climb the curtains again."

With a sigh, Tony returned to his full-time job of keeping his munchkins in line…and on the floor. Natasha's ninja gene must have been hereditary. This was the third time they'd tried out their climbing skills. If he didn't know better, he'd wonder if they were Clint's.

 ***** Page Break *****

T'Challa came by helicopter and landed on the back lawn. Well, technically, it was the back lawn of the property behind Tony's house but seeing as he'd bought it to expand, that was mere semantics.

The Wakandan arrived without his sister which Tony was grateful for. The less people he had to entertain the better.

As soon as he saw Tony, T'Challa's face lit up in a mushy grin. He held his arms open and Tony couldn't help leaping into the Alpha's strong embrace.

"It's good to see you, Tony," the Alpha murmured into Tony's hair.

Tony tried to reply in kind, but his throat closed and made talking difficult. He settled for burying his face in the Alpha's neck and inhaling the king's unique musk.

As if sensing Tony's turmoil, T'Challa carried him back to the house without another word. Pepper and Happy slipped out to grab T'Challa's belongings and place them in the room next to Tony's, giving them some privacy while Cassandra watched over the pups.

Without prompting, Tony started to tell T'Challa everything. All about Maximoff and the Avengers, his decision to move and finished with Barnes' confinement with SHIELD.

"I am sorry you are hurting," T'Challa murmured softly. That was it but somehow it was enough. Tony relaxed and let go of a fear he hadn't even realised he'd harboured. That T'Challa would follow the others and relinquish his courtship.

"I'm sorry you've stumbled into this mess," Tony mumbled into the king's shirt.

"I am not sorry about that," T'Challa denied, "I am proud to be here by your side. Whatever mess you may be in."

A weak chuckle burst from Tony. "So, what made you go home, anyway?"

"I had some business to sort out with my sister and our mother."

"I didn't know you had a mom."

"How do you think babies are made?"

"Ha-ha. Not what I meant."

"I'm sure you will meet her one day. She does not leave Wakanda and is still in mourning for my father. But she looks forward to meeting you and Matthew. Perhaps when he is better suited to travel we will go there."

"Until then there's always Skype."

"Of course."

"So, did you sort out your business?"

"I did."

"Are you going to tell me about it?"

A pause. "Very well." T'Challa cleared his throat. "I have forfeited my right to the crown and relinquished my duties as king to my sister who is now queen of Wakanda."

A much longer pause while Tony silently tried to figure out what his lover had just said. Slowly he leant back and gazed up at T'Challa who stared back calmly.

"You're no longer the king?"

"No."

"But you love being king!"

"I love my people. But I also love my son, and you."

Tony was silent, though not for lack of trying. There was a lot of sputtering and aborted sentences while T'Challa waited for him to gather his thoughts.

"You're not the king?"

"We have already established that."

"Why?"

"We have established that as well. My people may be advanced in some ways, but they are archaic in others. They will not welcome a foreigner on the throne beside the king. However, beside the prince, they will not mind so much. I will not expose you to their disdain by making you live there. Nor could I with a Pride as large as the one courting you. We would not be happy there. Thus, it was clear I had to leave if I wanted to make a life with you work."

Tony could only gape at the king – former king! – who had just declared his love for him by giving up ruling a country.

"That's a big commitment. Staking all your hopes and dreams on me."

"I believe it to be a wise move. My happiness and love already lie with you."

 _Aww!_

Tony giggled helplessly and buried his face in T'Challa's chest again. "You're staying."

"Yes."

"Forever".

"Yes."

"Wow."

"Appropriate."

Another giggle, this one giddy. He threw his arms around T'Challa and drew the bigger man in for a kiss. The royal had certainly earned a lot of brownie points with this stunt.

 ***** Page Break *****

The court date Tony had been dreading arrived far too quickly and went as horribly as he'd thought it would.

Thankfully, it hadn't been leaked to the press that four of the Avengers were suing their Omega teammate for full custody of the pups they shared. Tony had paid everyone a healthy amount to keep it quiet and deleted all digital footprints. He didn't touch the original documents, but he made sure only the correct people could view them.

The Avengers still weren't back from their siesta with the magic people, so Tony was left to face the lawyers instead of his former lovers. It was a cold, frustrating meeting full of sharks. By the time it was over, Tony was exhausted and fell into a deep sleep as soon as T'Challa got him back to the hotel they'd booked. Pepper and her Pride were babysitting the pups until Tony returned which had been a huge relief. He didn't want his pups anywhere near this mess.

In the morning, Tony sat by the window and stared at the Tower. Of course, he'd been given a room with _that_ view. It was like it was haunting him.

"Good morning," T'Challa curled in behind him.

"They're going to take my pups," Tony whispered, feeling numb.

"No. We will fight them, and we will win." T'Challa sounded so confident. Tony wished he felt the same.

They sat in silence for several minutes. It started to rain, fitting Tony's mood.

"I was happy here, once." He murmured, more to himself, "I was happy with them."

T'Challa tightened his arms.

"Now, I just want to leave as soon as possible. Keep my kids from this place."

"Our flight leaves soon. We will be home soon enough."

"But I'll have to come back."

"There are always things we must do that we do not wish to."

Tony sighed, "Damn the logic."

T'Challa kissed his head. "We'll pack, have breakfast, and leave. We will go home."

"Home," Tony rolled the word around in his mouth, "That sounds fantastic.

Just as they were leaving the hotel lobby, a news item appeared on the TV. Tony saw _their_ faces and he froze. The Avengers looked haggard, but they put on their usual press smiles and made it past the horde of reporters surrounding the Tower.

He heard the questions being thrown at the team and wanted to be sick. They were asking about Tony and the pups, if their relationship was still on, where they had been for the past month or so. The list went on and on. Speculation was beginning to run riot. Tony checked his phone and found a missed call from Pepper. As he was wondering if he should call her back, it rang again. Swallowing his apprehension, he answered.

"Tony, have you seen the news?" Pepper's voice sounded concerned rather than panicked which was a good sign.

"Yeah, I just saw them return to the Tower."

"Are you still coming home?"

"Yes." No deliberation. He was not staying in New York.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

Pepper sighed. "Okay. That footage you're watching is actually from yesterday morning. Strange just contacted me and let me know. He's been trying to locate me but as I was out of town he had to track me down here."

"So now the magician knows where I live."

"He's not a magician and yes, he does."

"Fine. I'll see you in a few hours. Gotta go, Pep."

Without waiting for an answer, Tony hung up then turned and left the hotel. He sensed T'Challa at his back and was confident in the Alpha's ability to keep up. He didn't look at the Tower as he left New York once again. Unlike the last time he'd fled the city, he wasn't worried about being too weak to leave it behind.

 ***** Page Break *****

Things with T'Challa were going well. He was an attentive mate, a _very_ generous lover, and someone Tony was quickly falling in love with. It wasn't just Matthew holding them together anymore. The prince had admitted on the plane from New York how he had designed some jewellery for Tony as a courting gift.

As the Alpha, T'Challa was traditionally required to supply the Omega he was courting with a gift that demonstrated his ability to provide. Once, that would have meant an extravagant feast or perhaps a home, now it usually meant a significant gift that showcased how much the Alpha had paid attention to the Omega's tastes.

Tony wasn't ashamed to admit that he had a fondness for shiny things. His own armour was a testament to that. So, when T'Challa presented a necklace made of gold with a ruby inset within the centre, he was both amused and thrilled. Most people went with silver for a courting gift, saving gold for the actual mating ceremony. T'Challa wasn't most people though. He was a proud, able male who was quite happy to rebel against tradition.

A trait he clearly shared with Tony.

Tony now wore the necklace as often as he could. Around the babies it was impractical seeing as they were at the age where they made grabby hands for everything. But when he went out for dinner with the Alpha, he proudly displayed the jewellery. And it was on the front page the next day.

"Well, they found me," Tony groaned upon seeing the headlines over his morning coffee. Now that he wasn't breastfeeding, he could return to his supply of lifeblood.

"It was inevitable," T'Challa remarked. "At least they do not know your address. However, now that your general location has been announced, you can be sure the Avengers will be on their way."

"Well, I have the paperwork that says they're not allowed near me until the custody dispute is settled," Tony growled. Just the thought of the team arriving at his haven, his _home_ , was enough to set his teeth on edge. His Omega was both livid at the threat and flattered by the thought of being pursued.

 _Slutty inner voice_.

"Their lawyers do not know where you are, any correspondence goes through Stark Industries and JARVIS, so they will not discover your location that way," T'Challa tried to soothe.

"They'll probably go to the old place, if they come." Tony wasn't convinced they would. "Then maybe they'll be arrested for trespassing."

T'Challa snorted, "My vengeful Omega. Your spirit pleases me."

"Just remember that the next time I snap at you for dragging me from my coffee," Tony drawled as he sipped on his second mug of nirvana.

"I have learnt my lesson," T'Challa's eyes twinkled with humour. "Never will I dare to come between you and your caffeinated beverage. I have seen wild animals with less ferocity than you displayed."

Tony smirked and took another sip.

After cleaning up the pups and settling them all into the living room for some playtime, Tony was prepared to spend the day with his growing youngsters. Until a phone call ended that moment of contentment.

"Tony, I'm sorry," Pepper's voice sounded harried, immediately setting Tony's nerves on edge.

"Pepper, what's wrong?" Had something happened to Cassandra? Wait, she'd said sorry to him.

"Tony, they know where you are," Pepper sounded close to tears.

Tony's blood ran cold. "They know? How?"

"Thor returned last night. Apparently, he got into a rage when he found you were gone and why. He, pardon the pun, but he stormed out after coming here. He was really upset. I'm not sure if he was pissed at you, or me, or them. Before he left he said he knew how to find you, something about following you because he could track Storm, and the rest of the Avengers left with him. They're on their way to you."

As if Pepper's warning was a portent of doom told too late, the sky darkened rapidly outside. Thunder rumbled, and lightning slashed across the suddenly cloudy world outside. The pups shrieked at the loud noise. All but Storm who laughed merrily and kicked his feet, reaching his little hands up to the ceiling.

T'Challa joined Tony at the window. "They're here?"

"Yep."

"What do you want to do?"

Tony bit his lip. In truth, there wasn't much he could do. If the Avengers wanted to break down his door and snatch his pups away, they could. It was only T'Challa and Tony standing in their way and any fight could result in harm to the pups. Something Tony would not allow.

"They seem to want a conversation." Tony spoke calmly while inside he was shaking, "Might as well let them in."

In a bizarre moment of déjà vu, Tony went to the kitchen and prepared drinks. Unlike before, it was coffee instead of juice. His hands still shook though.

A loud knocking made his pulse jump. He took a deep fortifying breath and made his way to the front door. He sensed T'Challa behind him and was glad he was there. JARVIS murmured he would watch the pups.

Tony yanked open the door and his heart – that traitorous organ – leapt at the sight of his other five mates. Four of which were former and one of which was currently undetermined. They looked haggard. All wearing civilian clothes, except for Thor who looked like he hadn't gotten cleaned up from being spat out of the portal.

Before they could say anything, Tony blurted out, "You're not supposed to be here. I have paperwork that says you're not to come within fifty feet of me until the court case is over."

They all looked shocked, taken aback. Thor looked confused.

"Tony…" Steve started, then stopped. He seemed to search Tony's face then glanced away.

"Why are you here?" Tony asked, cool and calm.

"We…um…it seems like we just came back from a mission and sometime during the night…everything went to shit!" Clint wasn't very articulate, but he seemed to sum it up for the others who bobbed their heads in agreement.

"Yes, you picked up a parasite on that last mission," Tony drawled. "Her name was Wanda Maximoff."

"She was Hydra, but she tricked us, played the victim until we were close, then she just…" Natasha looked shaken. Haunted. Tony felt a stirring of sympathy and wondered if she was reminded of her time from the Red Room.

"Yes, she fucked with your heads," Tony nodded once, "How much do you remember?"

"None of it," Steve admitted, "Our last memories are of approaching Wanda, then waking up with a sorcerer standing over us."

"That's it?" Tony was almost incredulous. Almost. Because he had lost two weeks, give or take. "You lost a month?"

They all nodded, except for Thor who was glancing between them all with intense concentration.

An awkward moment of silence then Tony reluctantly offered, "You might as well come in and have coffee."

"You can't -" Steve hesitated as if just remembering how much time he'd lost. What that meant.

Tony didn't respond, just led them inside to the kitchen where the coffee was still warm thanks to JARVIS. They all sat around the table, sipping at their coffee and Tony didn't fail to notice that T'Challa placed himself between Tony and the others. He wouldn't be surprised if the prince had a weapon on him somewhere.

"You hurt me." The words were out before Tony realised he was going to say them. Five sets of eyes flew to him. "You don't remember that."

They all shook their heads. Bruce looked a little green around the edges, but he somehow held himself in check. Steve looked gutted. Natasha closed herself off and Clint looked about to cry.

"You ignored me in favour of her. You criticised and belittled me or just plain ignored me." Tony's remembered rage and frustration was building. "Finally, you just outright hurt me. Relinquished your courtships and started the process of suing me for full custody of the pups."

If anything, Tony's words made them all look worse. A part of Tony hoped they were hurting as much as he had. Another part was just tired. He didn't want to fight them. His real anger was with Maximoff and she wasn't around to take his ire.

He sighed and rubbed his neck. T'Challa's hand cupped his cheek and he leant in to the contact.

They sat in depressing silence for long minutes.

"Are you still going to sue me for the pups?" Tony couldn't hold onto the question any more. He had to know.

"No." Absolutely no hesitation.

"Good, so that's one issue off the table," Tony felt wrung out and he'd only been sitting in silence for five minutes. "Now what?"

No one seemed to have an answer.

Tony looked to T'Challa and met the warm, gaze of his lover. The calm expression on the royal's face said it was all Tony's choice. They'd talked about what would happen when they finally confronted the Avengers. It hadn't taken as long as they'd thought to come face to face with them, but the conclusion of that conversation remained the same.

"I can't say I'll forgive you," Tony murmured, not looking at any of them, "Or that I'll forget. It's not something I can easily move past." He took a deep breath and finally looked up, he met their eyes, "But I'm willing to try. If you are."

Eager nods all around. Tony quirked his lips in a ghost of a smile. It was a start.

 ***** Page Break *****

If forgiveness was easy, the world would be a much better place. Tony came to this epiphany less than a day after allowing the Avengers to stay in his home.

He found himself flinching when they got too close, a fact he knew they noticed but hadn't yet commented on. He watched them closely whenever they interacted with the pups where before he had been more than happy to have them around. Overall, he was nervous with them being around at all and knew his stress pheromones were stinking up the place. The pups were picking up on it, being fussy and uncooperative.

No one said anything for two more days then Steve approached Tony after breakfast.

"I don't think this is working," he murmured, staring at Tony with sad eyes, "I know you're trying, we all are, but it's clear you're uncomfortable with us being here and it's starting to affect the pups."

"That's all true, much as a I wish it wasn't," Tony returned bluntly, "But going away isn't going to fix anything."

"Maybe there's nothing left to fix," Steve's face grew melancholier as he spoke, "Maybe we broke all the good that we had before, and this is the only thing that's left."

"Listen," Tony held up his hand to stop Steve from speaking, "I watched my parents be cold and distant to each other and me. I watched them fight or and ignore each other when they could. I watched them hate each other with the kind of silent resentment only the truly hateful can pull off."

If anything, Steve looked fixed in his depression. He bowed his head as Tony continued.

"But I never once saw them try to change, I never saw them try at all." Tony shrugged, "Maybe we won't work, maybe what we had is forever gone, but I'll be damned if I don't at least try because I never want to treat any of you the way Howard and Maria treated each other. I never want our pups to hide around corners wondering if the fight is over, feeling stretched between two opposing sides. I want the kind of mushy, loving family I never had, and most of us never had either. So, I'm going to try and salvage what I can, but I can't do it alone. That's almost worse then none of us trying."

Steve looked up and there were tears in his eyes. Tony reached out and wiped them away without hesitation. The first time he'd initiated contact without prompting or consideration.

"Thank you." Steve stood and brushed a kiss across Tony's cheek then left the kitchen.

T'Challa appeared from the other door and wrapped Tony in his arms. "I will keep you safe. You need not fear them. You can move past this."

Tony nodded, feeling maybe a little optimistic.

Later that day it was Clint who approached him while he was doing laundry. Tony didn't have time for lab projects with all the daily chores around. Having others help him was a godsend but there was still a lot to do. Besides, being in the laundry room was solitary and calm. He focused on folding and washing and drying instead of on his pups, being watched over by the Alphas he was still uncertain about.

Clint slotted himself into the room and started handing things to Tony to fold. They remained in silence for several minutes, listening to the washing machine slosh around behind them.

"Steve suggested we should spend time with you one on one," Clint finally spoke up. "Since you're scared of us when we're together, maybe one at a time might help you become more comfortable with us."

Tony nodded in silent agreement but didn't take his eyes off the clothes in his hands.

"We played rock, paper, scissors and I won," there was none of Clint's usual bragging in his tone. Instead he sounded wary, like he was afraid of saying the wrong thing. Hearing Clint so cowed and scared reminded Tony of when they first met, when Clint was coming out from under Loki's mind control.

The parallels between Loki and Maximoff made Tony's heart clench. How terrified Clint must have felt to realise it had happened again. To have his mind played with and be unaware of what he was doing.

Without thinking, Tony turned and flung himself at the archer who caught him without hesitation. Tony wrapped his arms firmly around the Alpha's body and snuggled his face into a broad shoulder.

"I missed you," he murmured into the warm fabric. Clint's arms tightened around him and Tony felt the muscles in the archer's chest tremble as the Alpha buried his face in Tony's own shoulder. They were roughly the same height, so Tony reached up and petted Clint's hair. The trembling increased as Tony felt a wet patch soak through his shirt. He didn't say anything, just let Clint hold him and cry. His Omega sang with happiness that their Alpha was around again. That instinct-driven inner voice might be finally useful for something if it could help him get back his happy family.

He heard something at the door and moved his eyes to see the others all gathered in the doorway, looking hesitant and longing to approach.

Tony smiled gently, suddenly aware he was tearing up as well. He waved a hand at them and that was all the encouragement they needed. Suddenly the laundry room was filled with Alphas each trying to hug their Omega. They scented him and allowed Tony to scent them. They touched each other, affirming Pride bonds.

 _Is it really that easy?_

Tony answered his own question as he was sandwiched between all his Alphas: it really is that easy.

He might just have to rethink his perceptions on Mondays. This one was shaping out to be not so bad after all.

 **The End**

 **A/N: So here is where I end it for now. I was getting lost in all the ideas I wanted to put into the story and decided to pull the plug before I ruined it. Never fear, there will be a sequel. I'm not sure when but I will get to it eventually. I'm busy right now job searching but in my spare time I will hopefully answer all the questions remaining from this story. I hope you enjoyed this story.**


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